


In Love and War

by nj_1996



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Bodyguard, Bodyguard Romance, Character Death, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Homophobia, Jos Verstappen's A+ Parenting, M/M, Oral Sex, Smut, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 103,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27942590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nj_1996/pseuds/nj_1996
Summary: Crown Prince Charles Leclerc gets a new personal Crownsguard in the form of one Max Verstappen, son of the most powerful Lord in the realm. Together they must overcome their differences, grow closer together, and save the entire realm from ruin when chaos inevitably ensues. Will the feelings they have for each other prevail, or will old loyalties come between them?
Relationships: Alexander Albon/George Russell, Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen
Comments: 204
Kudos: 215





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So, here we go. Fic the third. And something compleeeeeetely different than what I usually write. I decided to go FULL AU this time. Even made a whole thing with background information on the world, the regions, who controls what etc.  
> I've always wanted to write in a setting like this, and what better way to do it than with a cute bodyguard romance story? <3  
> I hope you'll all enjoy it, stay tuned for more and look at the end notes for some more in depth info on the setting.

‘’Your Highness, are you listening….? Charles?’’ As he was spoken to directly, Charles was ripped away from his daydreaming to fall directly back into the nightmare that was his tutoring session. ‘’Ah, you’re back. Did you hear what I asked you?’’ Mattia asked, raising his eyebrow at the young Crown Prince. Letting out a long sigh, Charles finally shook his head. ‘’No…repeat the question, please?’’ He asked his tutor.

It was almost impossible to express how much Charles did not want to be there. Tomorrow, he and the rest of the Royal party were leaving for the annual jousting tournament in Turon, and his mind was already there, rather than in this stuffy, old room in the Palace. He had been so excited for the tournament and had even planned on competing himself, right up to the point that after months of training, when he finally told Lorenzo, his brother and the King of all of the nation of Astral, the man had forbidden it without a second thought.

He gave Charles some bullshit about his safety being his most important concern, before just sending him on his way again. Charles had locked himself in his room for days. His brother was hell-bent on destroying all of his fun, no matter what it was. Still, even that couldn’t completely ruin Charles’ excitement for the trip. After the death of his father in what had simply become known as The Rebellion ten years prior, King Lorenzo had decided that Charles needed to be sheltered and protected as much as was possible.

Now though, given that Charles had finally come of age, that wasn’t the case anymore. He was allowed outside from time to time, be it under strict Royal guard, but it was better than the nothing that he had had ever since he was six years old. Still, Charles had never left Ostrana, the region of the realm that his family had controlled since time immemorial, and he could not be more excited to visit his friend Pierre’s ancestral home.

‘’Your Highness, please.’’ Mattia said again, once more interrupting Charles’ thoughts. ‘’I’m sorry for keeping you from your duties, but your brother has asked me to give you a quick refresher course on the basics of the realm before your trip to Turon. However, I see that me just reciting information at you is not having the desired effect. So we’ll try a quiz instead.’’ He decided, earning himself a bit of a wide-eyed look from Charles. He really should’ve paid more attention.

‘’Your Highness.’’ Mattia started. ‘’Could you please name the five ancient regions of the continent of Astral, its ruling families, and their seats of power?’’ He asked the Prince, who swallowed audibly. ‘’I…yes, of course…’’ Charles replied, before he launched into it.

‘’In the Southeast there is the region of Ostrana, the one we’re currently in. It is ruled by House Leclerc, who also rule the entire continent of Astral as a whole. Our seat of power is Hyla, the largest city and capital of the entire realm.’’ Charles recited, making Mattia smile and nod slightly. ‘’Good, next?’’

‘’Uhm…the region to our West is called Nikmaa. It was the first region to be conquered by my ancestors as they took control of the entire continent 5 centuries ago. It is now ruled by House Gasly, who we put in power after killing the original rulers in that war. Their seat of power is Turon, the capital of the region.’’ Charles continued.

‘’Then…the Northernmost region of the realm is called Skoedal. It is the largest region, but since it has a harsh, cold climate, it’s not the most populous. It’s controlled by House Verstappen, who were the last ones to fall to my ancestors, and only after the Queen had her dragon burn their King to death. The capital is called Anceron, but House Verstappen have their seat of power on a nearby hilltop. It’s an impregnable fortress called Oyoria.’’

Mattia smiled at Charles and seemed more relaxed than he had been all session. ‘’Three out of five, you’re doing very well, Your Highness. Next?’’ Charles frowned a little, thinking hard as he continued. ‘’The…Westernmost region of the continent is called Vandi, also known as the breadbasket of Astral. It’s ruled by the filthy rich House Stroll and their capital is called…Estimar…?’’ Charles asked, rather than said. ‘’Estikar, Your Highness. With a ‘k’, not an ‘m’.’’ Mattia chided carefully.

‘’Right…’’ Charles said, biting his lip for a moment. ‘’Final one is the small Southern region of Kelpiski. The maritime region. They provide most of the fleet. They’re ruled by House Ricciardo and their capital is called Ante, I think.’’ The Prince finally concluded, much to the delight of his tutor. ‘’Yes, that is correct!’’ Mattia said excitedly. ‘’Well, I think you’re about ready for the trip to Turon. It won’t really matter if you don’t know the names of the minor Lords and Ladies, you’re the Crown Prince, it’ll be an honour if you speak with them at all.’’

Charles just shrugged a little in response. ‘’Yeah, guess so.’’ He said, really not that interested in what the man had to say anymore now that he had gotten most of his quiz correct. He really just wanted to go and hang out with his friend. ‘’May I go now?’’ As Charles asked the question, Mattia was quick to get up and bow. ‘’Of course, Your Highness. Thank you as always for providing me the chance to further your education.’’

Charles just hummed a little, before he finally left the room. As always, there were two Royal guards standing guard, and they immediately started to follow him around the Palace grounds as he made his way over to the training area, where Charles was pretty certain he’d find his best friend. And indeed, just as he’d thought, there he found Pierre currently sparring with his little brother Arthur and absolutely beating the crap out of him. 

Pierre had been there for a couple of days now, planning on personally escorting the Royal party back to Turon as a sort of honour guard for the King and his family. Charles and he had met when they were still very little. Their families had been close friends for centuries, so it was only logical that the two of them had instantly hit it off as well. At this point, Pierre was in the Royal Palace almost as much as he was at home, just to spend time with his best friend.

Charles leaned against a column for a moment, crossing his arms and looking on with an amused smile. Apparently, Arthur really had thought he’d be able to beat Pierre in one-to-one combat. And in that, he was very sorely mistaken. Nikmaa was a very militarized region, and Pierre had been learning how to swordfight pretty much from the moment he could walk. As Pierre managed to kick Arthur’s legs out from under him again, sending him spiralling down to the ground where he ended up on his back, groaning in pain, the Nikmaa native put his wooden sword at the Prince’s throat with a smile. ‘’Had enough yet?’’ He asked, his amusement audible in his voice.

Charles started laughing then, getting the attention of both Pierre and Arthur. ‘’Why do you even try Arthur, really?’’ The Prince asked as he smiled over at his little brother, who huffed and dusted himself off after Pierre helped him up. ‘’Because I practiced a lot in the time that Pierre wasn’t here and I thought I’d have a chance!’’ He argued, while Pierre gave Charles a quick bow from the neck, as his rank and position required.

‘’I think it’s good for him.’’ Pierre said as he gave the younger boy an encouraging smile. ‘’He is getting a lot better. It’ll be sooner rather than later before he finally beats me. And you for that matter.’’ He said as he shifted his gaze back at Charles. ‘’Speaking of you, how was your tutoring session? As enlightening as you’d hoped?’’ Pierre asked curiously as he put away the training swords and got ready to retreat back inside for some refreshments.

Charles simply shrugged a little and sighed in response. ‘’Pretty much, yeah. I don’t really understand why it matters anyway. People are always introducing themselves to me anyway because they’ve never actually seen me before. I don’t understand why I then need to learn who the hell they all are in advance.’’

Pierre and Arthur were both wise enough not to continue to argue with Charles on the subject and as soon as they’d finished packing up their training equipment, they went inside with Charles, where he asked some random servant they came across for refreshments and snacks. They got settled, and soon enough Pierre switched to a more interesting topic. ‘’So, Charles. You’ve been of age as the Crown Prince for a while now. When are you getting your traditional Crownsguard led by your very own knight in shining armour?’’

Charles frowned a little at that, staring Pierre down as he took a sip of wine. ‘’What do you mean? I have the Royal guard following me around literally everywhere that I go. I really don’t need any more of those.’’ Pierre rolled his eyes a little at that. ‘’The Crownsguard is a tradition that goes back to when your ancestor conquered all of Astral. Given that Skoedal was the last to fall and the hardest to conquer, the King demanded a tribute to prove their loyalty: Their heir would become the personal bodyguard of the Crown Prince. In time, it developed into the Crownsguard regiment, with the Heir of House Verstappen as its leader. How do you not know this? It’s your own family history.’’

Charles shrugged a little in response. ‘’I don’t know. I wasn’t supposed to be the Crown Prince to begin with. I was always the second son who nobody really cared about. The spare they had, just in case something happened to Lorenzo.’’ He told Pierre, who hummed softly. ‘’And now, from what I hear, you’ll have yourself a personal bodyguard soon, who just also happens to be the second most powerful heir in the realm. That’ll probably go great, given that I know Max, and I happen to know that his ego is almost as big as yours.’’

‘’My ego is not that big.’’ Charles was quick to retort, sending Arthur in an absolute fit of laughter. ‘’Oh please. You have the biggest ego any of us have ever had to deal with!’’ Together, Arthur and Pierre teased Charles for a little longer, until they were interrupted when the door to their lounging room opened and the Queen walked in. Pierre was quick to get up and bow, while her sons remained seated, looking at their mother to see what she wanted.

‘’Hi, boys.’’ Pascale said with a kind smile, walking over to the three of them. ‘’I hope you’re enjoying yourselves?’’ She asked, before she looked down at Charles. ‘’Sweetheart, your brother would like to see you in the throne room.’’ She told him, making Charles frown deeply. ‘’The throne room? Why? What did I do wrong this time?’’ He asked as he got up from his chair. ‘’Nothing that I know of, sweetheart. There is just someone that he would like to introduce you to.’’

Charles had gone through something like this a few times before. From time to time, his brother tried to introduce him to some noble’s daughter from here or there. Without question, Charles was uninterested every single time. He didn’t know why. They were pretty enough. Nice enough. He just didn’t feel anything for them at all. With a deep sigh, he resigned himself to his fate then, following the Kingsguard that Lorenzo had sent along with his mother to fetch him, while Pascale stayed behind to chat with Pierre and her other son.

Charles made his way over to the throne room, where the heavy doors were opened and Charles was let in. There were quite a number of people in the room, a lot more than the young Prince had expected, and he was a little taken aback for a moment, before he regained his composure and strode through the room with his head held high. The chatter in the room when silent the moment that Charles walked in, and the people he passed all respectfully bowed to him.

He made the long walk to the foot of the steps leading up to the throne, standing next to some kneeling knight as he looked up at his brother sitting there. ‘’Your Majesty.’’ He addressed him, before bowing from the neck. ‘’You asked for me.’’ He added. If this had been a one-on-one situation, Charles would’ve behaved very differently, more like brothers ought to do, but here, with all of these strangers around him, he had to be on his very best behaviour, as was expected of him at all times.

‘’Indeed I did, Charles. Thank you for joining us so quickly.’’ Lorenzo replied to his brother, giving him a friendly smile. ‘’I summoned you here because there is someone that you need to meet. Someone who is likely to be in your life for quite some years to come.’’ As Lorenzo talked, Charles was already groaning inwardly. This sounded a lot like Lorenzo had decided that Charles’ indecisiveness about a bride was enough, and he was choosing one himself.

‘’As you know, every Crown Prince has their own, personal Crownsguard. They are your protectors, they would die for you, but they will also grow to be your confidants and your friends.’’ Lorenzo continued and okay, this wasn’t in the slightest where Charles had expected this conversation to go. ‘’Please rise.’’ Lorenzo said to the knight by Charles’ side.

As the man got up, Charles noticed that, much to his annoyance, the knight was just slightly taller than him. He was wearing a deep, dark blue armour that almost seemed black out of the sunlight, and Charles found himself getting more curious as to what this mysterious knight might look like by the second. ‘’Charles, this is Sir Max, son and heir to Lord Verstappen of Skoedal, and knight commander of your new Crownsguard. Sir Max, you may now address the Crown Prince.’’

At those final words, the knight moved to remove his helmet, in order to address the Prince properly. Charles found himself watching breathlessly as the man took it off, and he gasped softly as the knight he now knew was named Max pushed a hand through his slightly damp hair, before flashing Charles a slightly cocky looking smile. ‘’Your Highness.’’ He stated, bowing from the neck.

Charles realized something in that very moment. He realized exactly why none of the women that Lorenzo had paraded in front of him were making him feel anything at all. He realized it because just those two words in that Northern accent had made him feel weak at the knees. He realized it because the only thing that he was currently able to think about was how this knight would look out of the heavy armour that he was wearing.

He, Charles of House Leclerc, Crown Prince of the five Kingdoms of Astral, was gay. And having this particular knight close to him for about ten hours a day was going to be a real problem.


	2. Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 everyone! So excited for all of this to unfold for you!
> 
> I took a covid-test today cause I've been getting more ill by the day, so either I will start writing more or a lot less, depending on how things evolve. We'll see!
> 
> Let me know how you like the fic so far and where you think it's going. Love all the feedback so far <3

‘’Your Highness.’’ Max stated, bowing to Charles from the neck, before he straightened his back again and looked at the Prince, with that amused smile still very much present on his face. Charles had to take a deep breath then, remind himself that he was a Prince of this realm, and not some lowborn girl swooning over a knight in shining armour. He gave the man a polite nod, and after addressing him in return as ‘’Sir Max.’’ He looked back at his brother.

‘’Your Majesty, I thank you for bestowing this honour upon me today. Might I return to my chambers with Sir Max so that we can get better acquainted?’’ Charles was performing a bit of theatre for all the other people present in the Throne Room, and he was sure that Lorenzo could read from his expression just how much he disagreed with any of this. He did not want a personal bodyguard. Certainly not one that Charles was now convinced would be an absolutely gigantic problem, given that the Prince just could not stop thinking about how those strong, Northern arms would fit around his waist at night. 

Lorenzo looked almost as amused as Max had at the whole thing and finally nodded. ‘’Of course, dear brother. I imagine you will become close friends in the future, so you might as well get started now.’’ He told the young Prince, thereby sending him on his way. Both Max and Charles bowed before their King, before they finally left the room, with Max having to almost jog to keep up with Charles’ brisk pace.

As soon as they were far enough to be out of earshot from anyone else, the Prince turned around to face Max with his arms crossed. ‘’Look, I don’t want this. I hate my entire Royal guard regiment to begin with, I don’t need some Lord’s son following me around all day, too.’’ He told the knight, whose amused smile only grew as he regarded the Prince.

‘’Are you always such a brat?’’ Turned out to be the very first question that Max would ever ask of him, and it absolutely shocked Charles. Never, ever did anyone outside of his own direct family…and Pierre, speak to him in such a way. ‘’How dare you ask me that? I am the Crown Prince, you don’t get to speak to me in that way.’’ He told Max, who started to chuckle at first before he realized that Charles was being serious. ‘’Are you for real? Do they really insist on doing that whole act outside of official business down here?’’ He asked the Prince.

Charles huffed a little then. ‘’No…’’ He told the knight reluctantly. ‘’But I don’t know you yet and I don’t want to presume that we’re friendly with each other.’’ He explained, making Max smile again. ‘’Just you wait. I’m here on a charm offense from the North. I intend to woo you off of your feet.’’ He said, giving Charles a wink that stopped the Prince’s breathing right in its tracks. 

He swallowed then, before he cleared his throat and managed to regain his composure. ‘’Okay, well…we’ll see.’’ He said, before he just started walking again, going to his chambers in the palace to have some privacy. He asked one of the servants for some wine and finally walked out onto his large balcony, sitting down in one of the lounge chairs as he looked over at Max. ‘’Are you on duty right now?’’ He asked his new bodyguard, who shook his head. 

‘’No. Not officially at least. We start from tomorrow onwards, but I promise that I wouldn’t just sit by if someone tried to kill you right now if that’s what you’re asking.’’ Max smiled as he said it, and he sat down across from Charles after putting his greatsword down next to himself. ‘’Then why are you still in your armour? You must be boiling in there.’’ Charles replied with a bit of a frown.

‘’Your Highness,’’ Max started with a teasing smile on his lips. ‘’Are you asking me to undress right on front of you?’’ As the words left his mouth, Charles almost instantly turned red. ‘’I…I…I wasn’t…’’ He said, and Max instantly started laughing. ‘’You’re fine, honestly. But I think all of my things are on the other side of the palace. Do you have maybe something that I can borrow for the time being? It honestly is excruciatingly hot in these things.’’ He told the Prince.

‘’Y-yeah…’’ Charles finally answered after the image of Max undressing in his room and wearing his clothes had stopped short circuiting his brain. ‘’Just take whatever you like.’’ He told the Northerner, who nodded and went back inside to change. Charles could hear the clanging of armour as Max took it off, and he had to use all the willpower he had in him not to look over his shoulder and see what Max’s body was like. 

He was slightly shaking as he took a sip of wine, and he cursed under his breath. ‘’Get a hold of yourself, Charles.’’ He hissed. ‘’You’re the fucking Prince, stop being intimidated and distracted by that way too handsome, sexy, strong looking…oh, fuck…’’ He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to think of anything else that would calm him down a little so he could at least try and have a normal conversation with the man who would be responsible for his safety for the foreseeable future.

When Max finally returned and sat down across from Charles, the man looked a little uncomfortable. ‘’Don’t you have any…practical clothes? It’s all so…soft and silky.’’ Max said, like that was a bad thing in the slightest. Charles almost hadn’t heard the question, he was too distracted by the man sitting across from him. Max looked absolutely amazing in Charles’ clothes. He was wearing silk, which was just the fabric of choice in the heat of the capital, but Charles figured that he had subconsciously chosen this shade of dark blue, since it resembled his armour and the colour of his House’s crest.

‘’You’ll get used to it down here. It’s too hot to wear the kind of….practical clothes that you’re used to.’’ Charles told Max with a soft smile, making the Northerner sigh in frustration. ‘’Well these don’t really fit me…you’re a bit smaller than I am.’’ Max said, and whereas Charles would normally be outraged by the notion, he had to agree now. He couldn’t keep his eyes from the way that Max’s biceps were straining the material of his shirt. ‘’We’ll get you some clothes of your own soon enough, I’m sure.’’

‘’I guess so…’’ Max said, still moving around a little uncomfortably before he settled down in his seat and looked over at Charles, who almost looked a little caught when Max met his gaze. He quickly cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. ‘’Are you planning on entering the tournament in Turon?’’ Charles asked curiously. ‘’From the little I’ve heard I think you’re quite the accomplished rider.’’

Max couldn’t help but chuckle a little and smiled proudly. ‘’I am, yes. Many have said the most accomplished one in the entire realm actually.’’ He said up a little straighter as he spoke, and Charles hummed softly. ‘’Will you have someone in the crowd to dedicate your victory to when you win?’’ He asked the knight, who seemed to contemplate the question for a moment, before he broke into an amused smile again.

‘’When I win, I will be sure to dedicate it to you of course, my Prince.’’ Max finally said, making Charles turned almost instantly red. He coughed a little on his sip of wine, before putting the glass down. ‘’That’s…very thoughtful of you.’’ He told Max, before he quickly decided to change the subject yet again. How did this man manage to be flirty whatever they talked about?

‘’So…Tell me about Skoedal. Tell me about where you come from. I’ve never been all the way up there and I’m curious as to what it’s like.’’ Charles said, giving Max a bit of a smile to spur him on and start talking. ‘’Uh…sure.’’ Max replied. He thought for a second about where to begin, before he started talking.

‘’Home is…nothing like this place.’’ Max started as he looked off in the distance, over the gentle waters of the bay that glistened in the late afternoon sun. ‘’This place is warm, soft, like you’re underneath the heavy winter furs in bed, but…all the time. Home is nothing like it. Skoedal is cold and harsh. I used to fall asleep to the sounds of snowstorms battering against the castle walls. The castle is built with thick heavy walls to keep in the heat and keep out the cold. It has small rooms to contain the fires, unlike the sprawled out ballrooms you seem to have here.’’ 

It sounded like the absolute worst place on the planet to Charles so far, but Max sighed wistfully. ‘’I do miss it.’’ He said as he stared off into the distance. ‘’You might think us strange for living in such a place, but it is all we know. It is our home. It makes us feel closer to one another. We share a purpose. To survive and to thrive. There is a reason the words of House Verstappen are ‘Fight, and Overcome’ after all.’’ Max told Charles with a smile, looking back over at the Prince.

Charles hummed softly in response. ‘’Then why did you come here?’’ He asked Max. ‘’Why didn’t you stay home in Skoedal if you miss it so much?’’ In response, Charles got a long sigh. ‘’We all have our parts to play, don’t we? Our duties to fulfil. It just so happens that mine is here, to watch over you. It’s tradition, and so it needs to be.’’ Max didn’t seem to have much issue with the whole situation, and so Charles decided not to really address it any further for the time being.

They then spent some time talking about their shared interests like swordplay, horse riding & archery, as well as their shared dislikes, which consisted primarily of endless tutoring session done by incredibly stuffy, boring people. Charles to his shock really found that he was starting to like this man more by the hour, which was just the worst thing imaginable. Max being sexy was bad enough, but did they really just have to become almost instant friends, too? Charles really didn’t know how it’d be possible for him to stay away from his new knight commander in the long run.

It was only when a servant walked over to inform the two men that dinner was served in fifteen minutes that Charles realized just how much time had gone by. He had been so entranced by his new guest that hours had gone by without really either of them noticing. ‘’Ah, of course. Thank you.’’ Charles told the servant as he quickly got up. ‘’Will I see you again tomorrow morning then? On duty?’’ He asked with a playful smile, only for his words to be ruined by the servant.

‘’Your Highness, if I may…?’’ He asked. He whimpered a little as Charles sent him a look of absolute death, but continued to speak nonetheless. ‘’Her Majesty the Queen has specifically requested that Lord Verstappen dine with the family tonight.’’ He informed Charles, who hummed. ‘’I see.’’ He said, turning back to Max with a smile, to find the Northerner chuckling to himself already.

‘’Seems like you won’t be getting rid of me that easily, Your Highness.’’ He told Charles, sending him a little wink. ‘’I’ll go and change and I’ll see you at dinner.’’ Charles just nodded a little in response, watching the knight leave and letting out a deep breath to calm himself down when he was gone. He took another minute to look out over the sea and finish his wine, before he walked back inside his chambers.

Charles decided he should look his very best tonight. He told himself that it had nothing to do with Max, that it was just good manners when the heirs of two of the most powerful Lords in the realm were over for dinner, but deep down he knew he was lying to himself. He finally settled on a tunic with red and gold accents. It made him look strong and intimidating, and Charles very much appreciated that look at the moment.

He finally left his room to join the others for dinner, and found that he was the last one in. Max and the others were already seated, with the Northerner having apparently just changed into some cheap looking clothes that Charles would not be found dead in. Charles found himself thinking that they might actually be the fanciest ones that Max owned. They’d have to change that soon. He managed to not say any of that out loud though, just gave his brother and mother a little bow before he took his place at the table, which was of course right next to Max, as everyone in the Palace seemed intent on making him fall in love with man.

Thankfully, Charles found that his mother was already engaged in deep conversation with his new knight commander, apparently curious about the kinds of flowers that they managed to grow up there. The young Prince listened in on the conversation for a while, before he finally took pity on Max. When his mother had to pause to take a bite of her food, Charles leaned a little over the table to get her attention. ‘’Mommy, do you mind if I steal Max for a little while? I want to talk to him about the journey tomorrow.’’ He told her.

The Queen nodded in return at Charles, and out of the corner of his eye, he could just see Max mouthing ‘’Thank you.’’ At him. They were in conversation again for the rest of dinner, discussing the three day journey to Turon, and how Max had already arranged that he would ride by Charles’ side for every single moment of his journey. His tent would be next to the Prince’s too, so he would have absolutely nothing to worry about. Max was sure to keep him safe.

They all retreated to the Palace’s drawing room to have some relaxation after dinner, and, never having been good at handling his alcohol, Charles was getting more than a little tipsy as it approached bedtime. He normally didn’t drink so much, but it was just the nerves of meeting his handsome new knight that did it. Max noticed it when Charles started to yawn, and before anyone could even think about it, he already had his arm around the Prince. It was a little inappropriate, but given the state that Charles was currently in, nobody really said anything about it.

Max walked Charles all the way back to his chambers, which took even longer than it normally would, because the Prince insisted on stopping anytime he saw a piece of art that he liked, and he wanted to tell Max all about it. That shifted from about halfway through, when the Prince started to get a little more handsy. He felt up Max’s biceps, giggling when the knight put some tension on them. ‘’You’re really handsome.’’ He informed the man.

Max couldn’t help but smirk a little at that, and he glanced back at Charles as he guided the prince through the long corridors. ‘’You’re not too bad yourself, Charles.’’ He replied, to which the Prince shook his head. ‘’No. You’re like…super hot. I didn’t know that a man could be so hot.’’ He added. It didn’t really get the response that he had hoped for, given that Max just hummed and seemed to chew on the inside of his cheek a little.

They reached Charles’ chambers soon enough, and Max stopped walking at the door. ‘’This is where I leave you.’’ He told Charles, who smiled at the knight in return. ‘’Can I have a kiss goodnight from my knight in shining armour?’’ He asked curiously. Max couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head at that, but did not engage. ‘’You’re drunk.’’ He told the Prince. 

When that seemed to make Charles pout a little, Max gently took his hand and placed a kiss on the back, before bowing fully for the man. ‘’Goodnight, Your Highness. I’ll see you in the morning for the trip.’’ And with that, he left. Charles spent the next few minutes staring at his hand, while his heart was doing somewhere in the region of a 130 beats a minute. He giggled a little then, and went inside his chambers, crawling into bed for the night.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the palace, Max almost ran to the guest chambers that had been prepared for him. He’d move into the offices of the knight commander of the crownsguard after the trip to Turon, but they weren’t ready yet. He nearly slammed the door behind him, sinking down against it as he pushed his hands against his temples. 

‘’No, Max. Fuck, you can’t do this.’’ He mumbled to himself. His voice was shaking a little as he spoke, and the memories came flooding back into his mind. How angry his father had been, how terrible it had been for Jonathan after his father had found out. How the poor boy had screamed as he was tortured. No. Never again. He wouldn’t be with another man again. He just couldn’t.


	3. Travels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 already! I'm so excited about this new fic I just can't stop writing! Until now that is. Cause I'm heading home for the weekend, so it might a couple days until the next update.
> 
> Hope you'll like this one though! Love you all <3

Charles woke up with a smile on his face the next morning that lasted about 5 whole seconds, as the events of the night before came flooding back into his mind. He let out a loud groan at his own idiocy and buried his face in the pillows. ‘’I AM SO STUPID!’’ He yelled into the fabric, before he just screamed loudly for a minute to let out his excess emotions.

He only really stopped calling himself a stupid idiot when a servant knocked on his door to ask whether Charles wanted breakfast in bed or in the dining room. He got his composure back then, and asked for breakfast to be served in his room, and to send for whoever it was who was going to dress him for the journey straight after. They were on a schedule if they wanted to make the trip in three days, and there wasn’t any time to waste.

As he had his breakfast, Charles’ thoughts wandered over to Max again. He was worried how the man was going to take his comments from the night before, and whether he had ruined their friendship before it had good and well began. He’d do anything to just be able to take those words back. He sighed deeply then, and had to tell the servant standing by three times that it really wasn’t the food that was depressing him before the boy was satisfied.

After finishing his meal, Charles slipped out of bed and looked at himself in the mirror for a while, before he was finally joined by his armourer, who’d help him to get the intricate leather armour on. Reflecting Charles’ sense of style, the armour was covered in little red and golden accents, as well as the Royal crest right on his chest. It looked good, if he said so himself. It did for armour at least. 

He then oversaw the packing of this things, wanting to make sure they really were taking everything that he was planning on wearing while they were over in Turon. After that was finally settled as well, he walked out of the room, only to be greeted by a pair of guards wearing armour that was a deep, dark shade of red. It was slightly confusing, given that all the Royal guard wore armour with a golden shine, and the normal Palace guards had armour with a silver colour.

They both took a knee in front of them and removed their helmets. ‘’Your Highness.’’ The one to Charles’ right addressed him. ‘’We are part of your new Crownsguard. Knight commander Verstappen requested for us to escort you to the stables once you were ready.’’ Charles huffed at that. He really didn’t need Max to tell him where to go. ‘’The Knight commander does not dictate where I go.’’ He told them, before he simply walked off, only to be stopped in his tracks when the same man spoke up again.

‘’Your Highness…It was not the Knight commander who request you go to the stables, only that we escort you. His Majesty asked for your presence, given that it is getting late…’’ He said, quickly staring ahead as to not meet Charles’ gaze when the Prince turned around to glare at the man. ‘’Fine.’’ He just spat, before he started to briskly walk to the stables. 

Once he got there, it appeared that Charles really had gotten the time wrong. Everyone was ready to depart already, and Lorenzo looked very much unimpressed with him. ‘’Ah, Charles. How kind of you to finally join us after all.’’ He said, anger seeping through in his words. It made Charles wince a little as he quickly bowed and mounted his horse. ‘’My apologies, Your Majesty.’’ He told his brother. ‘’I…I thought we were leaving later…’’ He explained himself.

He had barely gotten onto his horse, before the Royal party was departing. Charles decided to hang back a bit in the line, not really wanting to face his brother’s anger, and it was only a few minutes before Pierre was at his side, an amused smile on his face as he looked at his best friend. ‘’Too busy spending time to look pretty for your man to join us this morning then?’’ He teased, making Charles frown deeply.

‘’What are you talking about?’’ He demanded from the man, who just snorted. ‘’Oh come on, Charles. Even a blind man could see the heart eyes that you were giving Max all night long.’’ When he got a bit of a shocked look from the Prince, Pierre was quick to continue. ‘’I’m totally fine with it, by the way. If you like men that is.’’ He told his friend, giving him a reassuring smile. ‘’You know that I love you and I just want you to be happy. No matter what or how.’’

Pierre’s words reassured Charles at least a little, and he gave his friend a small smile in return. ‘’He’s really handsome.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I…I’ve never really felt like this around any other person before. He just makes me feel things that I didn’t even know I could feel.’’ Pierre chuckled a little at that and nodded. ‘’Yup, you’re having a crush. And it’s very long past due if I might add. You have the entire realm making heart eyes at the handsome Crown Prince, so it’s high time that you started returning the favour to at least one other person.’’

Charles was about to continue talking, wanting to tell Pierre about what had happened while Max walked him upstairs to his chambers, but he could just see the Knight in question approaching from the corner of his eye. Max was not wearing his heavy armour anymore, but he had switched to a similar armour as Charles was wearing, though still slightly more battle ready compared to Charles’ mostly decorative outfit. 

‘’There you are.’’ Max said, frowning a little as he rode over to join Charles’ side. ‘’You’re not supposed to just ride off on your own like this without my protection……Your Highness.’’ He said the last two words through gritted teeth. Max was clearly not used to having anyone outrank him, and even less so when the higher ranked man in question was the annoying brat he was tasked with protecting.

‘’I’m fine.’’ Charles said as he rolled his eyes. ‘’I have Pierre right here, and he might be an even better swordsman than you.’’ Max just huffed in response, and silently continued to ride next to Charles. As the Prince looked over at his new protector, his eyes widened a little. He didn’t want to say it out loud, but Max looked absolutely terrible. His eyes were bloodshot, and the bags under his eyes told Charles that he probably hadn’t slept all night. He figured it must be homesickness, and decided that he should probably make more of a point of welcoming Max in.

On the other hand, the events of the night before still haunted Charles’ thoughts. He felt embarrassed all over again every time that he thought about it, and he really was a little scared that Max didn’t want to talk to him anymore. He knew that they had a different view on homosexuality in Skoedal, but he hoped that Max didn’t hate him for what happened.

In the end, Charles decided not to risk it. He didn’t want to make matters between him and Max any worse, and the man still looked like his lack of sleep could set him off at any moment. He eventually did, when a to Max random seeming man rode up to them. Max saw him going straight towards Charles, and immediately blocked him off with his horse. ‘’What do you think you’re doing? Nobody speaks to His Highness without me knowing about it first.’’ He said seriously.

‘’I…Charles, really?’’ The man said, looking right past Max, who only seemed to get angrier and put a hand on his sword. ‘’You will address His Highness by his proper title or it will be the last thing you ever say.’’ Max informed the man, only to be interrupted by Charles himself. ‘’Max…it’s fine, really. This is Seb, he’s a close advisor of my brother.’’ He gently told the knight, who calmed himself a little at the Prince’s words.

‘’With all due respect, Your Highness, as your protector it is unthinkable that people simply try and go around me when they want to speak with you. You are in my care and I will do what is necessary to make sure no harm will come to you.’’ Max told Charles, looking very serious. Charles finally decided to just give in and sighed. ‘’Fine. But you’ll need to learn quickly who the people I trust are. I don’t want you to be bothering them too much.’’ He told the man, before he finally turned to Sebastian.

‘’Yes, Seb. What is it?’’ He asked the man, who cleared his throat for a moment. ‘’Your brother has asked that you come and join him for dinner after we get to camp so that you can talk through what happened this morning, Ch-Your Highness.’’ He glanced at Max for a moment as he spoke those last words, and the Northerner was still sending him daggers.

Charles finally nodded at Sebastian, even though he did not look too thrilled about it. ‘’You can tell my brother that I’d be delighted to have dinner with him.’’ He said, sending Sebastian on his way again with that. Once he was out of earshot, Charles sighed deeply. ‘’That was completely uncalled for.’’ He told Max. ‘’And I will not have you tell me off like that. You might be my guardian, but I am still in charge here. Understood?’’

Max was clearly gritting his teeth as he was scolded, and he stared directly at Charles as he answered. ‘’Understood.’’ He grumbled, before he turned his gaze straight ahead again. The rest of their day went by in relative silence after that, and they dismounted at the location where their camp had already been set up. They were a Royal party after all, so they’d sent people ahead the day before to make sure everything was set up for their arrival. The King had to sleep in comfort.

Charles went to inspect his tent after dismounting his horse. The thing was gigantic, only slightly less large than the one meant for his brother, and it even had separate areas inside such as a bedroom for Charles, a lounging area, a dressing area, and a place for his guards to spend the night. By then, Max could barely keep standing, and so he excused himself, promising Charles that he would watch over him during the night, but that to do so he should go to sleep now.

Charles was almost relieved that Max left his side for the moment. He was of course replaced by someone else, but not having his crush right at his side for every moment of the day gave him a little more breathing room. Reluctantly, he went over to his brother’s tent, where a dining table was set up out in front. He approached Lorenzo, and after getting his attention, bowed from the neck. ‘’Your Majesty.’’ He greeted him, before he sighed. ‘’You’re not gonna yell at me about what happened this morning, are you?’’

Lorenzo just shook his head at his little brother and put a hand on his shoulder for a moment. ‘’No, Charles.’’ He told the young Prince. ‘’I just wanted to have dinner with you. One to one. No mom, no Arthur, no other people, just us. You’ve been acting a little off lately, and I just hope that you’ll tell me why.’’ He told his brother, before he offered Charles to sit down.

Charles looked a little confused at his brother’s words, but he did finally sit down. ‘’What do you mean, I’m acting off?’’ He asked Lorenzo, who sat down across from him after pouring them both a glass of wine. ‘’I’m saying that you’ve not really been you. You seem distracted, you’re often late to dinner, to meetings, your mind seems to wander around. Is…I don’t want to push you on this, but does it have to do with the anniversary of dad’s death? It’s the time of year.’’

He was staring at his wine glass as Lorenzo spoke, but Charles looked up when the man mentioned their father’s death. Just those words almost sent Charles right back to that moment. He had still been so young, touring the streets of the capital at his father’s side in a lovely parade, when a huge group of rebels suddenly descended on them out of nowhere. The small Prince had seen men being killed all around him. He remembered his father telling him not to be scared, that they would be fine, until they suddenly weren’t. He remembered screaming, telling his father to turn around, but it was already too late. His father was cut down before his eyes, and Charles had been able to do nothing but scream in absolute horror before he was taken away and brought back to the safety of the palace walls.

‘’Charles? Charles are you with me?’’ Lorenzo asked then, ripping Charles out of his memory and back into the real world. He could feel his eyes being wet as he blinked, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. ‘’I’m here…’’ He said quietly, closing his eyes for a moment to try and push the images from his mind. He could feel Lorenzo’s hand on his own then, and the King was smiling at him when he opened his eyes again. ‘’We don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready. Just know that I’m here for you when you are. Not as your King, but as your brother.’’

Charles nodded softly at that, and he changed the subject as soon as he was able to think of something else. The rest of their dinner together turned out to be quite nice, and Charles almost felt nice and relaxed again as he walked back to his tent afterwards. He could see the fires around the large campsite, and he realized that it felt really nice to be away from the noise from the capital. At least for a little while.

He entered his tent again after lingering outside for a little bit longer, and got himself ready for bed. He could hear who he presumed to be Max snoring from another part of the tent, and it made him giggle a little as he crawled underneath the covers. He fell asleep shortly after that, smiling a little to himself as he did.

‘’Charles. CHARLES. Wake up.’’ Max’s voice told him. As Charles opened his eyes, he could feel that he was trembling. He was covered in cold sweat, and his heart was beating like crazy. It panicked him, and he looked up at Max with a scared look in his eyes. The Northerner was towering over him, keeping him safe just like he promised. ‘’It’s okay.’’ Max tried to assure the Prince. ‘’You had a nightmare. You were screaming.’’ He explained. Charles could hear some other people shuffling around a little, but Max was quick to turn around. ‘’Go back to bed. I have it handled.’’ He told them off, before he turned back to Charles.

Max gently took the Prince’s hand in his own, caressing it softly as a gesture of warmth and comfort. ‘’Are you okay? Do you remember what you dreamt about?’’ He asked quietly, still looking a little worried as he put a hand on Charles’ forehead to feel if he might be getting sick. As Charles tried to remember his dream, he winced. He suddenly remembered what he had been dreaming about. ‘’My…my dad…’’ He said quietly.

‘’I was there and he…and they…Please don’t make me go back.’’ He almost begged Max, who gently placed a kiss on Charles’ hand as an answer. ‘’I won’t make you go back anywhere, Charles.’’ He told the Prince quietly, giving him a reassuring smile. ‘’You’re just going to go back to sleep and have nice dreams and we can talk about all this in the morning if you’d like to.’’ He informed the Prince.

Max was about to get back onto his feet then, when Charles let out a small, scared noise. ‘’Could you…please stay?’’ He asked quietly, and really, who was Max to ever say no to that beautiful face, especially when Charles seemed to need him this much. ‘’I’ll stay.’’ He assured the man then, before he bit his lip. ‘’Do you want me to lie down with you?’’ He asked quietly. He knew that he shouldn’t be doing this. He fucking knew it. And yet, Max did it anyway. Because he was but a man, and he knew he would never be able to resist Charles.

‘’Please.’’ Charles said again, scooching over slightly to make some more room for Max. The knight gently got in next to Charles, who really had no power left in his system to put on any act whatsoever. He moved to Max’s side, putting his head down gently on the man’s shoulder and sighing in relief as he felt an arm going around his waist. ‘’Thank you.’’ He said quietly, earning himself a smile from Max. ‘’Hush now.’’ The knight whispered. ‘’Just sleep, my Prince. I’ll watch over you.’’


	4. Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAHHHHHHHH MAX HAS POLE. I SCREAMED. Is ANYONE as excited as I am? 
> 
> Thank you all so much for the lovely feedback on the first chapters <3  
> I was very unsure about writing this, and I’m beyond happy that you’re all embracing it like this. Thank you!

Charles slept soundly through the night in Max’s arms, and found himself still held securely when he woke up in the morning. Max was gently spooning him now, holding him just close enough to make Charles feel safe, and the young Prince was fairly certain he never wanted to sleep in any other way ever again. He could feel the Northerner’s lips against the back of his neck, and judging by the soft snoring sounds coming from that direction, Max had fallen asleep somewhere in the night.

Charles was in no rush whatsoever to wake Max up though, and so he stayed perfectly still, only pulling the covers up a little higher for some additional warmth. As time went on, he could hear more and more people outside, getting ready for the second leg of their journey, and it wasn’t long after that Charles’ amazing cuddle time was ruined in the worst possible way.

Pierre stormed into the tent, looking ready to stir up trouble for Charles, as he often liked to do. “Goodmorning, Charlie! Sleep well? Ready to actually join us on time tod-“ Pierre stopped talking in the middle of his sentence, as he finally laid eyes on the scene in his best friend’s bed. “By the Gods what is happening here?” He asked with the biggest grin on his face. The commotion woke Max up, and the knight’s very first instinct was to pull Charles in closer protectively, wanting to shield his Prince from any possible danger.

It was about two seconds later that Max’s brain caught on to what was actually happening here. His eyes widened and he immediately let go of Charles, pretty much jumping out of bed and looking between the two men for a second, thinking of what to say. “I…I….I need to go. I can’t be here…” He finally said, before he practically ran out of the room and the tent entirely.

Charles closed his eyes for a second then, letting out a soft, though very much tortured sounding groan. “I hate you so much.” He told Pierre, who by now had slightly recovered from the shock and was currently climbing into Charles’ bed to get some private time of his own with his best friend. “No. You got that wrong. You love me.” He said, before he was hit in the face with a pillow.

“Well how else was I supposed to react?!” Pierre demanded to know. “It’s not like I’ve ever seen you in bed with another person before! It was shocking!” Charles took a moment to properly glare at Pierre then, before he answered. “You also walked into my bedroom without any reason whatsoever. I could have been naked.” He told his friend, who just started laughing. “Nothing I haven’t seen before, Charlie.” He told the Prince, before he turned to the direction in which Max had stormed off. “He seemed…upset.” He noted.

Charles sighed in response then and nodded. “Yeah…I really hope that he’s angry with you for storming in and not with me for asking him in bed with me…” He said, looking very guilty as Pierre frowned at him. “Why was he in your bed to begin with?” He demanded to know, making Charles wince as he remembered the events of the night.

“I….I had another nightmare about dad and I got pretty bad. Max woke me up because I was screaming in my sleep and I just felt so scared that I asked him to stay with me…” Charles said quietly. “And he did. And I’ve never felt safer than in his arms, Pierre.” He swallowed thickly then, closing his eyes for a moment and only opening them again when he felt himself being hugged a moment later.

“I’m sorry for ruining your moment, Charles.” Pierre said quietly. “I’ll apologize to Max later, promise.” Charles nodded a little at that and cuddled close to Pierre, letting the man comfort him for a moment before they really had to go and get ready for the day. “Can you please go find Max if you have time? I don’t know where he’s run off to and I really need to get dressed.” Charles asked Pierre, who nodded quickly. “Of course, you can trust in me.” He assured his friend, before he was off.

Charles slowly managed to get himself out of bed then. He hadn’t really done these long stints on horseback before, and so he groaned as he already started to feel a little sore. He managed to get into his armour with the help of one if his other Crownsguard and when he was finally all done and ready, he exited his tent and made his way over to grab a quick bite to eat before they departed.

Charles’ strange adventure with Max and Pierre in bed meant that he didn’t have much time to spend though, and so he just quickly ate a sandwich and grabbed a second for on the road. He went to his horse then, mounting it as the entire party got ready for departure. As they went on their way a few minutes later, Charles let out a sigh of relief as Max joined his side once more. Much to the young Prince’s surprise though, he didn’t meet Charles’ gaze, and just bowed stiffly. “Your Highness.” He greeted him, before he stared straight ahead, not acknowledging Charles any further.

Charles’ face fell from the greeting he got from Max, and he did instantly feel more than a little hurt. He understood that Max wouldn’t like the way that Pierre just walked in on them. It could be taken as a romantic setting rather than what it actually was, but that was no reason to push him away, was it? Unless Max had figured out that he actually might be romantically interested in him, and he hated him for it already…oh no. He knew that homosexuality was outlawed for being unnatural in Skoedal, but Max couldn’t really resent him for it, right…?

Their second day of travel was pretty much entirely silent after that. A number of people came by Charles to talk to him about their time in Turon, wanting his thoughts on things ranging from his clothing choices to whether he wanted to visit the city itself at some point. And all of them had to go through an incredibly grumpy Max first, which scared quite a few of them off before they even managed a word with Charles.

Their second stop on route to Turon wasn’t another camp. At least, it wasn’t for the senior members of the Royal party. They stopped at a decent enough looking inn for the night, with Charles of course getting the second best room they had. After dinner, he wanted to have a word with Max, to talk through the events of that morning without other people disturbing him, but when he got up from the dinner table, he saw that his guard detail had changed, with Max being nowhere in sight anymore. 

Charles could feel his heart sink once more, and he sighed softly as he went up to his room. He could have gotten drunk with some of the other people in their travelling party, but he didn’t feel like it. He somehow felt like he had ruined his chances with Max before things had even really started at all. He thankfully didn’t have any nightmares that night, but somehow he still managed to feel worse than the night before, and he lied awake in thought more than he actually managed to sleep.

Day 3 of travel was not much different than the day before. Max still refused to really acknowledge Charles was anything more than something to protect, and Charles did not want to confront the man in such an open setting. He did not want to make things worse than they already were. Towards the end of the third day, the city of Turon finally came in sight. The thick, high, seemingly impenetrable city walls made Charles chuckle a little. The city had had a reputation of being unconquered for centuries. That was, until his ancestor managed to just fly in with a dragon.

The city was about a fourth of the size of the capital, and as they rode in through the main gate, the first thing Charles noticed was how incredibly efficiently designed it looked. All the streets we perfectly straight, with a wide, central lane heading right from the main gate through the city, towards the impressive keep built at the city’s centre. It all seemed so different compared to the endless, winding streets of Hyla, that seemed to go anywhere and nowhere at the same time.

The lane to the central keep was lined by an incredible amount of people cheering them on, and Charles chuckled a little as many of them seemed most excited to see their Pierre, a true son of the city. He rode up to join his friend’s side, waving a little at the people. ‘’This is amazing, mate.’’ He told his best friend with a wide smile. ‘’Turon is beautiful. So different than Hyla.’’ Pierre chuckled a little at that and shook his head. ‘’I keep forgetting that you’ve never actually been here before. Yeah, it’s gorgeous. I’m glad you think so too. I’ll show you around when we actually have some time!’’

The layout of the city made it easy to get through, and they reached the central keep before long. Even this was nothing compared to the palace that Charles was used to. If anything, it more closely resembled the castle that Max had told him about than it did his own home. Clearly, everything about this city screamed military strength and readiness, and Charles was suddenly a little relieved that his and Pierre’s family were so closely allied.

There was a second thick, stone wall surrounding the keep, and as the gate in closed behind them, they all dismounted their horses. ‘’It’s good to be home.’’ Pierre said with a grin, which only widened further when he saw his parents walk out to greet them. Lord and Lady Gasly both bowed before Lorenzo, and Charles was quick to join his brother’s side for the official welcome.

‘’My Lord, my Lady, thank you for this most gracious welcome.’’ Lorenzo started. ‘’I cannot wait for the tourney to start tomorrow, and I am certain that your son will be a close contender to win it. He is such an accomplished swordsman and trainer of my brothers that I am almost sad to return him to you.’’ Lorenzo and Pierre’s parents continued to talk a little more after that, but Charles had already zoned out. Max was off to the side, quietly talking to Pierre while the official matters were going on, and Charles couldn’t help but wonder if they were talking about what happened the previous day.

Once all the official business was over with, Charles had wanted to immediately go and speak to Pierre about his talk with Max, but of course the man was busy greeting his parents and catching up with them on the time he had missed at home. So instead, knowing that Max would have no choice but to follow him there, Charles requested a servant to show him to his chambers for his stay. 

The boy was quick to oblige, and looked a little nervous as he bowed for Charles, before leading him through the keep’s hallways, all the way up to his chambers for the next few days. ‘’Thank you.’’ Charles then told the boy, sending him on his way again, before he closed the door and stared at the only other person present in the room: Max. ‘’We need to talk.’’ He told his knight commander.

Max stiffened a little as Charles spoke to him, and there was no expression on his face as he nodded. ‘’Of course, Your Highness. I am at your service.’’ He told the Prince, who sighed deeply. ‘’Max…why are you being like this? We were developing such a nice dynamic and…the way that you took care of me when I had a nightmare…that meant a lot to me.’’ He took a few steps closer, a small smile on his face that immediately faded when Max winced as soon as he came too close.

He could see the knight swallow, before he finally spoke up. ‘’Your Highness,’’ He started again, and Charles closed his eyes for a moment in disappointment. Max seemed to be a very informal person, and the fact that he was using his title in a one-on-one conversation could only mean bad things. ‘’I apologize for overstepping the mark two nights ago. It was out of line and it won’t happen again.’’

Charles just blinked a few times then, feeling incredibly confused as he stared at Max. ‘’What…? But…you didn’t…I…’’ He reached out then, wanting to put a hand on Max’s arm, but the knight jumped backwards in the blink of an eye, just to get out of reach of Charles’ touch. ‘’Charles, please…’’ He said quietly. He finally met the Prince’s gaze for a moment then, and he had a panicked look in his eyes as his breath trembling slightly. He swallowed thickly then, before he managed to regain his composure. He straightened his back again and looked at the wall right next to Charles. ‘’I…I just think it better if we keep our distance in future, Your Highness.’’ He told Charles.

Charles felt like Max had just stabbed him in the back with a knife. So he really had figured it out then. Max had realized that he was gay, and he was disgusted by it. ‘’But Max, can’t we jus-‘’ Charles started to quietly say, hoping to plead with the man, hoping that he could convince him that he really wasn’t as bad as the people in Skoedal thought of people of his ‘kind’, but Max interrupted him before he’d even started. ‘’Might I please be excused, Your Highness? We have had a long journey, and I would like to rest before I am on duty again during the night.’’

Charles swallowed thickly then, before he finally nodded. He knew that if he’d speak right then, his voice would crack, and he didn’t want to embarrass himself even further in front of Max. The knight left then, and as soon as the man left the room, Charles sank down to his knees. He let out a sob as he did, feeling empty and heartbroken. He had seen so many people in his life, and the one person that he was actually really interested in absolutely hated him for it. He could feel his cheeks getting wet as he sat there on the ground, letting out sob after sob as he just had to let out all the emotions he had forcibly held in over the last two days.

On the other side of the door, another young man of the same age was seated against the wall in a deserted hallway. He wiped at his tear-stained cheeks, hating himself for what he had had to do. He hadn’t wanted to, but he simply had no choice. As Pierre had said, he wasn’t going to say or do anything, but if he didn’t want rumours to spread and reach his father, he would have to keep his distance from Charles, keep things strictly professional. It was one of hardest things that Max ever had to do in his life, but he simply had no choice. If his father found out that he was still gay, he might take it out on his mother, his sister. He might even decide that Max wasn’t worthy of the title, and try to end his life.

He didn’t know why he was feeling like this, why this person that he had just met only days earlier was having such a strong effect on him. All that he knew in that moment was that he wanted to run back into that room, apologize to Charles for being the absolute worst person in the entire world, and kiss that frown from his impossibly beautiful face. But he couldn’t. And it was tearing Max apart.


	5. Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is a chapter. 4k words. I'm so tired.
> 
> Please enjoy and let me know what you think! It was my first time writing combat, so it felt a little weird!

It must have been a few hours later that Charles was finally forced to leave his swirling thoughts of despair and dread, when there was a sudden knock on his door, and Charles could hear Pierre’s voice a second later. ‘’Charles, are you in there?’’ His friend asked. Of course. The one person that Charles wouldn’t just be able to ignore showed up to his room. He wiped at his eyes a little, before he finally cleared his throat. ‘’Yeah…’’ He said quietly. 

Charles had moved to sit on the edge of the bed by that point, and he looked up at Pierre when the door opened and his best friend walked into the room. ‘’Hey, why are you hanging out here, nobody can find you…’’ He started to say, before he noticed just in what state Charles currently was. ‘’Oh…Charles.’’ He said, walking over quickly and sitting down next to the young Prince. He reached out to wipe his cheeks clean a little from the tears staining them, before he took Charles’ hand in his own, caressing it gently. ‘’What’s wrong? What happened, Charles?’’

Charles sniffled a little as Pierre took care of him, and he looked down at their hands. ‘’The worst happened.’’ He said quietly. ‘’Max thinks I’m disgusting.’’ He told his friend quietly, making Pierre frown deeply. ‘’What? What are you talking about?’’ He demanded to know from the Prince, who just sniffled again. ‘’He said that taking care of me like that two nights ago was a mistake. That it won’t and can’t happen again. That we need to keep our distance in the future. And…then when I wanted to touch him and talk he flinched and jumped away from me and couldn’t get away quickly enough. It was like I was toxic. Like I would infect him with my illness.’’

The young Prince could feel a couple of fresh tears on his face and he let out a shaky breath as he suddenly felt Pierre’s arms around him, pulling him in close. ‘’Oh, Charlie.’’ His best friend said quietly. ‘’Pierre…He knows that I’m gay and he hates me for it.’’ He told the man as he cried in his arms. ‘’How can…How can I be able to look at him every single day from now on, knowing that he’s disgusted by who I am?’’

Pierre let out a long, deep sigh then and gently rubbed Charles’ back. ‘’I would tell you if I knew, Charles.’’ He told his friend gently. ‘’But…You don’t know that he hates you. Or that he thinks you’re disgusting.’’ He tried to assure the Prince as they sat there together. ‘’Maybe he just needs some time to digest it. I know Max, I have for a long time. He’s not as tough as he looks. Deep down he’s a big softie.’’

Charles sniffled a little more then. He tried not to sound too hopeful, but he just couldn’t help it. ‘’Do you really think so?’’ He asked Pierre quietly. ‘’I’ve never felt a connection like this with anyone before, Pierre. I don’t want to lose him. I can’t. Not before I’ve even really had a chance with him.’’ Pierre hummed softly, wiping away Charles’ tears as he gave him a gentle smile. ‘’I honestly don’t know, Charlie. But I have hope. And so can you.’’ 

He took a deep breath then, and widened his smile. ‘’Now, you asked me to take you out into the city, and I think that you really need to go out there and do something to get your mind off of things. So I’m gonna show you the sights of the city and then we’re gonna go shopping and get you some lovely new clothes. I think the local styles would really suit you.’’

Charles couldn’t help but smile a little at the cheering up Pierre was doing for him, and he finally nodded softly. ‘’Yeah, okay.’’ He told the man, taking a deep breath of his own to steady his emotions a little. ‘’Can you give me some time to change and freshen up? I’ll be with you in half an hour.’’ Pierre nodded at that and kissed Charles’ cheek, before he got up. ‘’Alright, Charlie. See you in the central courtyard when you’re done. Love you.’’ He told the Prince, before he was off.

Charles let out a last deep sigh of his own, before he finally got up from the bed. He undressed himself and freshened up completely, before he started to change. His clothes had already been brought up earlier, so Charles could at least change out of his travel clothes, and into an outfit that he felt a lot more comfortable in. He valued his appearance a lot, and so the Prince really took some time to look his very best, before he finally went downstairs to join Pierre and head into the city with him.

Pierre chuckled a little when Charles finally joined him outside and fondly shook his head. “You are the only person I know who needs this much time to get ready.” He teased his best friend, before they, and a small contingent of guards, went out into the city. Pierre was sure to take Charles to all of his favourite places. They went to see the prettiest sights in town, visited the ancient cathedral and even paid a little visit to Pierre’s favourite pub. When that earned him a bit of a shocked look from Charles, he shrugged. “It’s fine. We’re not as extreme on security as they are with you and I’m not the heir anyway. I can just go here whenever I want and nobody really seems to mind much.”

They ended up having a really nice and relaxed dinner there, before Pierre took Charles back to a more expensive looking part of Turon. “And now for your very favourite part of going out: shopping.” The Turon native was pleased to see Charles brightening up a little as soon as they hit the part of the district with the fabric shops and tailors, and the young Prince spent a long time poring over all they had before he finally made his decision. He went into what he had decided was the best tailor’s in the city and bought himself an overly expensive new tunic in the traditional style of the Nikmaa region, and Turon in particular. It wasn’t as extravagant as he usually wore, but the details were gorgeous, and Charles wanted to show the people he enjoyed their welcome. He finally settled on a deep, dark blue colour for his new tunic, lined with bright red accents, and seemed pleased with the result as he looked at himself in the mirror.

“This will do very nicely.” He decided happily. “How much?” The tailor bowed again then for Charles, as he had done already too many times to count. He seemed a little overwhelmed by having the Crown Prince in his shop, and stumbled a little over his own words. “F-for you, Your Highness, nothing at all. As a friend of our own Lord Gasly, I-I would be honoured to have my clothes worn by someone of your stature.” He bowed again, and Charles couldn’t help but chuckle a little as he calculated a normal price point in his head. “Thank you very much, that is very kind. But I do insist on leaving you a tip of a hundred and fifty golden dragons. For your exemplary service.”

The tailor suddenly looked like he was having a heart attack as he looked at Charles with wide eyes, and Charles realized only then that prices would likely be significantly lower here than in the capital, and that a 150 golden dragons was probably a lot more than it was at home The man practically sunk down to his knees and thanked Charles profusely, even going so far as to promising the young Prince to have his new tunic ready for the tourney in 2 days’ time.

The sun had set by the time that Charles and Pierre finally left the shop, with the Prince seemingly a lot happier than before. ‘’You just paid that man about three months’ worth of income.’’ Pierre noted with a chuckle. ‘’So I think the quality of your purchase will be good at the very least.’’ One of Charles’ guards cleared his throat then, looking a little nervous when the man he was charged with protecting turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow in surprise. ‘’My apologies, Your Highness, but perhaps we should return to the Keep. The sun has gone down and we are unfamiliar with these streets.’’ He offered.

Charles hummed a little at the knight in return and looked at him with an amused smile. He couldn’t deny that he slightly enjoyed watching the strong-looking man squirm a little under his gaze, but he didn’t want to torture the poor man for too long. He seemed quite young, and it must’ve taken a lot of courage to speak up. ‘’What’s your name?’’ He asked curiously. He hadn’t really been introduced to most of his Crownsguard yet, since Max hadn’t really taken the time to do so, and he made a mental note to learn all of their names as soon as he could.

‘’I’m Paulo, Your Highness.’’ The knight replied, flashing Charles a slightly crooked smile that the young Prince was sure had melted many a heart already. ‘’Well thank you for speaking up, Paulo. And you’re right. We really should head back to the Keep. Pierre? Can you lead the way?’’ He suggested to his friend. They made their way back after that, with Charles commenting a few times just how nice Turon looked in the moonlight.

Much to Charles’ delight, Pierre decided that operation Cheer Charles Up wasn’t over as soon as they returned to the Keep. He asked a servant for a couple of chairs and some wine and snacks to be brought up to the roof, where he sat down with his best friend and sighed happily as he looked out over his city. ‘’It’s so good to be home again.’’ He told Charles. ‘’I’m really glad that you like my home. It’s nothing like what you’re used to after all.’’

Charles just chuckled a little in return and smiled over at Pierre. ‘’How could I not love it? The people are super nice, it’s absolutely beautiful and I feel so welcomed. It’s everything that I imagined it would be.’’ He replied with a grin. They spent a lovely evening on the roof together, just drinking and talking and digging up old memories that embarrassed the both of them almost equally.

When a slightly tipsy Charles finally went to bed in the middle of the night, he found that Paulo was still on duty and was escorting him through the keep to his bedroom. ‘’D’you know where Max is?’' He asked the knight, who seemed a little shocked for a moment that Charles was addressing him directly. ‘’Uhm...I’m not quite sure, Your Highness. He said that he had matters to attend to, and that that was why he wouldn’t be on duty anymore until after the tournament. Do you want me to go and find him for you?’’

Charles shook his head as an answer and pouted a little. He had heard enough. He leaned against the door to his chambers with a deep sigh and looked at Paulo. ‘’You’re really pretty.’’ He told the knight, who chuckled softly and looked pretty pleased with himself after receiving such a compliment from the most eligible bachelor in the entire realm. ‘’Do you think I’m disgusting, too?’’ Charles added, and Paulo’s smile immediately faded from his face.

‘’E-excuse me, Your Highness?’’ He asked the Prince, fairly certain he’d misheard the question. ‘’Do you think I’m disgusting?’’ Charles repeated, still pouting as he looked over at Paulo. ‘'I...N-no, Your Highness, not in the slightest. I think you’re kind and beautiful and everything that I aspire to be.’’ He told Charles, who couldn’t help but smile a little. He walked closer to Paulo, getting very close into his personal space, before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the knight’s cheek. ‘’Thank you, Paulo.’’ He told him quietly, before he walked inside his bedroom and closed the door behind, leaving a very, very confused knight standing on the other side.

The next day was filled almost completely with official matters that had to be done ahead of the tournament the day after. Charles had to spend much of it at his brother’s side, talking to uninteresting local Lords, Ladies and other dignitaries, while simultaneously keeping an eye out for Max. The man in question did make an appearance, but it appeared to be in his role as the heir of Skoedal, rather than anything to do with Charles. Max didn’t even send Charles a single glance, or at least not that the Prince noticed. 

Charles went to bed again feeling hurt that night after being completely ignored yet again, but he did make a decision to stand up for himself. If Max still didn’t want anything to do with him after the tournament, wouldn’t do so much as even meet his gaze, Charles would demand they talk this out. It wasn’t fair to leave him hanging like this. If Max hated him, he deserved to know so.

Charles woke up the morning of the tournament feeling nervous. The jousting tournament was bad enough, but at least the risk of injury was somewhat manageable. No, of course both Pierre and Max just had to enter themselves into the 1v1 melee combat tournament, and Charles was terrified that anyone got very hurt. 

He had breakfast in his chambers that morning and was very pleased to see that his brand-new tunic had arrived. And what better occasion to wear it at than the annual Royal tourney. It would be nice to show a little support for Pierre’s hometown. Once Charles was finally pleased with his appearance, he left his chambers and made his way downstairs, where he joined the already existing party that was waiting to depart. The tourney would be held on huge grounds outside the city, where Lorenzo and Charles would be sitting in the Royal box together to watch the entire spectacle, with Lord and Lady Gasly joining them there on Lorenzo’s invitation.

Once the entire party had finally be assembled, they mounted their horses and left the Keep and the city behind them, making their way over to the tourney grounds, where there was already a lot of action going on. Spectators had already arrived, and people were practicing and warming up everywhere. Charles had really wanted to go and wish Pierre luck, but he was immediately brought to the Royal box, where it was a lot easier for their guards to maintain crowd control.

The tourney itself was thankfully more than enough of a distraction to keep Charles from worrying too much. Given the amount of people entered into the tournament, not everything could be seen from the Royal box, but Charles made sure to stay informed on how both Max and Pierre were doing. Both of them seemed to be moving through the field pretty steadily, and given the way that the bracket was set up, it wasn’t long before Charles realized that there was a serious chance the two of them would meet in the title match, which was almost as exciting as it was terrifying a thought.

In the end, Max made it through to the final pretty easily. The two semi-finals both took place in front of the Royal box, and Max was up first. He had to find some second son of a minor Lord from the region, and he had the poor boy on the back foot from the first moment. He had already built a reputation for himself before the tournament, but Max was going through these people like they were absolutely nothing, and this young man was clearly terrified of who he was facing. 

Max pounced almost immediately, driving him into a corner. They exchanged a small number of blows, before Max finally managed to get in a cut on his opponent’s thigh, causing him to wince and sink to his knees. With a smirk, Max simply pointed his sword at the man’s neck. ‘’Yield.’’ He ordered. When his opponent threw down his sword a second later, the crowd went ecstatic. Max’s movement had been so determined, so sensational, he was clearly a man on a mission, and there was only one man left now who could possibly stop him.

Pierre was up next. He was fighting a man called Robert, a capable mercenary who had shown himself to be successful with a very unorthodox technique. He fought much more fluidly than most of the slow, static fighting knights that Pierre had faced so far. This Robert did not shy away from fighting a little dirty, using distractions to find openings and using his surroundings to their extreme to try and bring his opponents off balance.

Thankfully, Pierre was prepared for all of this. He was the greatest swordsman that Charles had ever seen. His technique was refined, almost perfected, clearly drilled into him from as soon as he was able to even hold a sword. He did everything by the book, and it was mesmerizing to watch. No matter what the mercenary tried to bring Pierre off his game, it just didn’t work. Pierre absolutely destroyed his opponent, until he finally, riddled with wounds from Pierre’s blade, begged for mercy, something Pierre was happy to provide.

There it was then; the final Charles had feared so much. Max against Pierre. Some philosophy tutor at some point in his life had taught him about the irresistible force paradox, where an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Somehow, it popped up again in his brain right then. ‘’Well this is exciting, isn’t it? Your best friend and your knight commander facing off in battle.’’ Lorenzo commented happily. ‘’No matter who wins, you’ll have a party to celebrate with the winner.’’ He noted, while Charles just sighed. ‘’Or having to console the loser...’’ He mumbled to himself.

Max and Pierre got enough time to recover and rest a little then. Charles really wanted to go and talk to Pierre, wishing him luck in the final, but he wasn’t given the chance. He was stuck in the Royal box, watching the jousting final between two people he didn’t care about, and the prize giving ceremony that he cared even less about afterwards. The only thing that made him perk up a bit was the traditional rose that was given to the victor, to be given away to whoever the victor dedicated their victory to. 

Charles just couldn’t help himself then. The image of Max winning the final crossed his mind, with the knight giving him the rose, and dedicating his victory to him. It was a beautiful image, and Charles was getting a little lost on it, but his daydream was rudely disturbed by a pair of incredibly loud trumpets, announcing it was time for the melee tournament final. Both Max and Pierre entered the arena then, and Charles could almost instantly feel his heart rate going up. 

The worst possible images went through his mind, with either of them getting wounded, losing limbs, or even losing their life altogether. It was terrible, and Charles said a quick prayer to the Gods to keep the both of them safe. As soon as he finished, he heard a roar, and Max stormed forward. With a clang of steel against steel, their battle had begun.

In Charles’ mind, the battle seemed to go on almost forever. It was like he was watching the entire thing in slow motion, and it was like nothing he had ever seen before. These two men were likely to be the best swordsmen of their generation. They didn’t give each other an inch of space, exchanging blow after blow to try and find an opening in the other’s defence.

It seemed to go on like that for minutes, before something happened that made Charles’ heart skip a beat. In the middle of their battle, Max’s gaze suddenly shifted, looking right at where Charles was sitting. It was like the knight stared right into his soul, and Charles felt absolutely breathless for the split second that it lasted. 

Afterwards, the tide of battle suddenly seemed to change. With renewed vigour, Max was able to drive Pierre back, to gain the upper hand. Pierre tried everything, tried every single one of the techniques he had in his back pocket, but it didn’t matter. As a last attempt, he tried a fake out, starting a side-swipe before changing direction upwards with his cut. 

With a loud groan, Max suddenly put a hand on his cheek, covering a somewhat deep-looking cut that Charles was sure would leave him with a scar. It didn’t matter though. The strike had been Pierre’s last hurrah. It had surprised him so much that it had connected that he didn’t pay attention to his footwork anymore, allowing Max to swipe him off his feet and leave him on his back on the dirt, with a sword pointed at his chest. 

He huffed, shaking his head before he smiled up at Max. ‘’I know when I’ve been bested.’’ He told the knight. ‘’I yield.’’ It was dead-silent across the arena, before the cheers started. The people of Turon knew how good a swordsman Pierre was , and to see someone beat him was to witness the battle of a lifetime. Charles let out a relieved breath of his own, incredibly relieved to see that nobody had gotten seriously hurt.

Immediately, people sprang into action, setting up the prize giving ceremony and rolling out the red carpet for Lorenzo, who hummed a little as he watched the scene in front of him. He got up then and raised a hand as he waited for the noise to die down. ‘’Thank you all. And thank you, Lord Gasly and Lord Verstappen, for an incredible battle. Now, this is the point where I usually crown the winner. However, given Lord Verstappen’s current position in the Royal household as captain of the Crownsguard, today that honour will befall my brother, Crown Prince Charles.’’

As the words left Lorenzo’s mouth, Charles froze completely. No. Anything but this. Please no. And yet, his own body and sense of duty betrayed him. Under deafening cheers, he got up, waving at the people and bowing for his brother, before he entered the arena and walked over to Max, who still refused to meet his gaze. Two items were brought to him by servants. As Max knelt down before him, he placed the first on the knight’s head. A laurel wreath, as a sign of victory. When the knight finally rose again then, Charles gently took the rose from the second servant.

When he looked back up at Max, the knight was suddenly looking right back into his eyes, a somewhat torn looking expression on his face. Charles’ gaze was drawn to the cut on Max’s cheek, and part of him wanted to touch it, try and make it better. But he knew he had a duty to perform. ‘’Lord Verstappen,’’ He started, with every fibre of his being fighting his every word. ‘’I congratulate you, and crown you as victor of this tournament. As is tradition, I hereby also hand you a single, red rose, with which you can dedicate your victory to someone dear to you. My question is; Would you like to do so now?’’

Charles felt like he couldn’t breathe. Max was still staring at him as he took the rose, and it was almost like the young Prince could feel the fireworks, the connection between them. It seemed like eternity before Max finally opened his mouth, and shattered Charles’ world for a second time with just a single word.

‘’…No.’’

With that, Max turned around and walked away, leaving Charles there, standing on his own. Confused, heartbroken, but most of all, alone.


	6. Words Unspoken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter in 2 days, yay!
> 
> It's a sad one again, so be warned.
> 
> Thank you all so much for sticking with me, I love you all <3

Charles remained frozen as Max walked away from him. It felt like the entire world had fallen away around him, and all he could do was watch this man walking away from him. He took a few breaths then to try and get his brain to start working again. He hoped that the entire thing hadn’t looked to weird to the spectators as he finally turned around and returned to his seat. 

Thankfully, with the final of the melee tournament, the main events of the tourney were over, and Charles could not get away quickly enough. He practically ran over to the tent that Pierre used as his base of operations for the day, and was breathing a little heavily as he ran inside. Pierre was sitting down when Charles walked in, a medic having just finished putting a bandage around his upper arm where Max had managed to cut him. 

There were a couple of other people present in the room. Supporters and friends of Pierre, Charles assumed. The man in question looked up at Charles when he came in, and needed only that one look to make up his mind on what to do next. ‘’Everyone out.’’ He announced. ‘’Give me and His Highness some privacy to talk.’’ He demanded. Everyone seemed to comply easily enough, bowing to Charles before quickly exiting the tent.

They were barely all out, before was Pierre was lifting himself up from his chair with a bit of a pained groan, throwing his arms around Charles and pulling him in close once he reached him. ‘’Are you okay, Charlie?’’ He asked the man. Pierre had been there of course, witnessing the whole thing, and unlike literally everyone else present at the prize giving ceremony, he knew exactly what Max’s ‘No’ had meant to his best friend.

Charles let out a bit of a shaky breath as Pierre hugged him and shook his head. ‘’I don’t know…’’ He said quietly. ‘’For a moment there I genuinely thought…’’ He started, before Pierre hushed him. ‘’Shhh, I know, Charles. I know.’’ He said quietly. ‘’He told me when we first talked about the tournament that he’d dedicate it to me if he won, so I thought…’’ He told Pierre anyway, just wanting to get it out. ‘’The way he looked at me Pierre. Like he could read me like a book.’’

Pierre finally sat Charles down in a comfortable chair and sat down across from him, groaning a little at the effort of sitting down again. ‘’Are you okay…?’’ Charles asked his best friend, frowning a little as he looked at him in worry. Pierre just chuckled a little and shrugged. ‘’We’ve both been hurt today. You your heart, I my body and pride. But I imagine mine are a bit easier to heal than yours.’’ He patted Charles’ knee as he finished talking, and the Prince chuckled a little.

‘’You did really well, Pierre.’’ Charles assured his friend, who just sighed deeply. ‘’I guess so. Just not good enough. Gods, he really is something, isn’t he? Out of nowhere he just found something that caught me completely off guard. I thought I had him on the ropes until then.’’ Pierre’s words made Charles blush a little, but he stayed silent on the subject. ‘’Do you mind if I stay with you the rest of the day?’’ He asked of his friend, who nodded and smiled. ‘’Sure, mate. I’ll just pretend I’m hurt a bit worse than I am and I need myself a handsome medic Prince to take care of me.’’ He told his friend happily.

Pierre hummed a little as he considered the rest of the day. It was nearing dinner time, and the sun would be going down soon, so they probably should be getting back to the keep at some point soon. ‘’How about we go back to my chambers and just stuff ourself with cakes and wine until the sun comes up again?’’ He proposed, and Charles let out a sigh of relief. Truly no one in this world knew him better than Pierre. ‘’Please.’’ He answered immediately. 

They returned to the Keep soon after, with Pierre making a bit of a show of mounting his horse and returning home, so that nobody would really be bothering them for the rest of the day. They retreated to Pierre’s chambers as soon as they arrived at the Keep, where servants put out a number of delicious cakes and the wines Pierre had asked for, before they too left them be. 

The Crownsguard that was with Charles then cleared his throat, and Charles was surprised to see that it was Paulo. He hadn’t even really noticed before. ‘’Yes, Paulo? What is it?’’ He asked the handsome knight, who bowed first, before he spoke. ‘’Your Highness. Forgive me, but I wanted to make sure that you weren’t needlessly disturbed later on. Am I correct in assuming that you want me to keep anyone out unless it is an absolute emergency?’’ He asked the young Prince, who once again gave Paulo an amused smile.

‘’Yes, Paulo. That is exactly right. Thank you very much.’’ He told the man. With a pleased smile on his face, Paulo bowed again, before he left the room. He had barely closed the door, before Pierre was humming softly. Charles recognized that particular hum from his best friend, and he groaned a little as he turned around the face the man. ‘’What?’’ He demanded.

Pierre gave Charles an innocent look, before he spoke up. ‘’Nothing…’’ He said, waiting for Charles to sit down before he continued. ‘’Only that you’re apparently blessed with two very handsome men in your guard instead of just the one that you’re head over heels with.’’ Charles looked at Pierre for a moment, frowning a little, before he answered. ‘’Yeah…? What exactly are you saying?’’ Charles asked as he got up again, pouring the both of them a glass of wine, because he had a feeling he could not be dealing with this sober.

‘’I mean you really don’t have any experience whatsoever, right? Why not try him out to see what you like? The guy is obviously into you.’’ Pierre suggested. Charles instantly took a big sip of wine, immediately followed by another one, before he just let out a groan and closed his eyes as he sunk down into his chair. ‘’I hate you so much.’’ He grumbled, making Pierre chuckle. ‘’We’ve had this talk before. You mean the exact opposite.’’ He said happily.

‘’No but seriously, given how it works between two guys, shouldn’t you figure out which one you wanna be…?’’ Pierre asked then, and Charles really downed his entire glass in one go after that. ‘’Pierre. I cannot express enough just how much I am not going to discuss this with you.’’ Charles told his friend, before he just facepalmed. ‘’I just figured out that I’m gay and that I have a crush on Max. I don’t even want to think about getting married and consummating it.’’

It was Pierre’s turn to frown then as he looked at Charles. ‘’’Who said anything about marriage?’’ He asked, before the coin finally dropped. ‘’Oooohhh…oh Charlie…’’ Pierre started, and Charles started to blush before Pierre even really explained himself. ‘’Do you still think that people only fuck after marriage? They really keep you locked up in that palace, don’t they?’’

‘’Shut up.’’ Charles replied, getting up and walking over to the window, staring out of it to just try and hide his blush from Pierre. His friend couldn’t really be bothered though, and after he managed to get up, walked to Charles and hugged him from behind. ‘’You know how much I love you, Charlie. Sometimes I just forget how sheltered you were raised. Forgive me?’’

Charles stayed silent for a moment, before he finally just sighed and leaned back into the hug. ‘’Love you, too.’’ He told Pierre. They changed the subject after that, talking about the tournament a little more, as well as what Pierre wanted to do with Charles in the next few days, before the Prince would have to return home to the capital.

When Charles finally returned to his room, he was pretty drunk and had to be supported by Paulo. There were a few times when he nearly fell over, much to Charles’ giggly delight, before Paulo managed to finally deliver the Prince back to his chambers. ‘’Will you be alright, Your Highness?’’ He asked his Prince, who giggled again as he leaned against the door. ‘’Paulo, would you have sex with me?’’ He asked the knight, whose eyes widened almost instantly.

‘’I…I…I-I really don’t know how to answer that question, Your Highness…’’ Paulo replied, stumbling over his words a little. The knight’s eyes only widened when Charles put his fingers on the man’s lips and shook his head. ‘’Call me Charles.’’ He ordered. ‘’And answer my question.’’ He watched Paulo swallow thickly, and the man licked his lips before he finally answered. ‘’Yes, Y-…Charles. Yes, I would.’’ He finally answered. The man was breathing a little shallowly as he looked at Charles, and he looked like he was about to have a heart attack after Charles leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on the knight’s lips. 

‘’Thank you.’’ Charles told the man with a pleased smile, before he walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind. Like the other night, he left a very confused, and now slightly turned on knight on the other side. Charles let out a pleased sigh as he walked into his bedroom, before he suddenly froze completely. The pleasant buzz that he had felt earlier was suddenly completely gone, his heart was pounding in his chest, and his head had never felt clearer.

Right there, right on top of his pillow, were two items. A single, red rose, and an envelope. As Charles walked closer, he could see that it was addressed ‘To Charles’. It was written in slightly crude handwriting, and the young prince instantly recognized it as Max’s. He hadn’t seen much of the man’s handwriting yet, but it just fit his style perfectly. 

Charles gently lifted the rose from his pillow, smelling it and closing his eyes for a moment. He shouldn’t read the letter. Not tonight. It would probably only be more things to hurt him with, and Charles really couldn’t handle that. Not with the little sleep he had had over the last few days already. And yet…the urge was too strong. Charles put the rose down on the nightstand and used the fire from the fireplace to light a few candles, before he sat down. His hand was trembling a little as he picked up the envelope, but he pulled through and managed to open it without too much trouble. The letter was a lot longer than Charles had originally thought, spread over multiple pages, and Charles swallowed thickly before he started to read.

_My dearest Charles,_

_I’m sorry that I’m doing this through a letter, but I am not brave enough to tell you all of what I have written on these pages in person. This is my sixth attempt now at writing it, because I want to make sure that the words and feelings I use to tell you this are the right ones. I understand if you want nothing to do with me anymore after you finish reading this, and I assure you that I will leave as soon as you tell me to._

_I am very bad with feelings. I have never been great at handling my emotions. I was prone to anger as a child, I guess I still am now, too. By now, I have become comfortable with being angry. It’s my natural state, having been drilled into it by my tutors and my father. But I feel nothing like that when I’m with you, and it scares me. When I am around you, I feel calm, I feel happy, like you have a way of turning my emotions around with just your presence._

_There’s only been one other time in my life that I’ve felt this way around someone. It has been around 4 years now since that time, and his name was Jonathan. He was a stableboy starting out at our family castle, Oyoria. I met him on a cold, spring morning, and I immediately knew that my life had changed. I had never felt anything for the girls that my parents had paraded in front of me, but I felt an instant click with him, and he with me._

_It didn’t take long for us to fall in love, and we spent every waking free moment at each other’s side. And then I did something that I’ll regret every day for the rest of my life. I was happy. And I wanted other people to know that I was happy. I knew it deep down in my heart. Homosexuality is considered taboo in Skoedal culture, and people that are that way certainly cannot inherit anything. And yet, I told Lars, my best friend at the time. Turns out I had barely left to go hunting or he was already with my father, telling him everything in the hope of being adopted by him to take my place and my inheritance. At least my father had him killed to keep his son’s shameful secret._

_When I returned from my hunt, I was immediately called to the dungeons, where I found a sight that I will never be able to forget for as long as I live. My father had Jonathan stripped naked, his hands and feet bound as he was chained to a pole. He was whipped as I entered the room, and my father made me watch as he tortured the man I loved in more ways than you can possibly imagine._

_It went on for hours on end, and yet I said nothing. I did nothing. I knew that if I did, he would torture me as well, or worse, have me killed outright. I keep telling myself this every single day, but still the shame is too overwhelming at times. To this day it keeps me awake, or gives me nightmares when I do finally fall asleep. When my father had finally seen enough, he and his torturer left, and it was just me and my Jonathan remaining._

_I cried as I held him in my arms that day, knowing that all that had been done to him was because of me. Because I am a failure. I failed to protect him, and I have to live with that now. The words he said then still ring in my ears when it’s quiet at night. He begged me to kill him. He begged me to end his suffering. He begged me to just make the pain stop. And I did. Gods help me, I did. I held the man that I loved in my arms, took out my dagger, and plunged it into his heart as I told him that I loved him._

_I stayed there for hours, apologizing over and over and over again to Jonathan as I felt him going cold in my arms, until I finally heard a voice behind me. ‘’I hope you learned your lesson’’ My father told me. ‘’No son of mine or of this House will ever betray his family like that and get away with it. Let this never happen again, or this will be nothing compared to the wrath I will bestow upon you.’’_

_Now you know then. I am a failure. I failed my love, I failed my family, and by acting in the manner in which I have for the past few days, I know that I have failed you, too. I care about you, Charles. Much more than I wanted to admit to myself at first. You are special, I knew it from the moment that I saw you. I felt an immediate connection with you that I just cannot explain. That night that we spent in bed together was the best night’s sleep that I’ve had in years, all because you were there with me._

_At the same time, I am sorry. Despite what I feel for you, and what I think that you feel for me, we just cannot be. I have told myself for years that what I felt for Jonathan was just a fluke, a one-time thing. But now that I know that it isn’t, I still can’t let anyone else get hurt in the way that he got hurt. I won’t allow it. I was terrified when Pierre walked in on us for this reason. If word about it had gotten to my father, he would’ve sent assassins to kill us both. So I really am sorry, but I care too much about your safety to risk you getting hurt._

_I’ll end this letter by restating what I said when I started. If any of the words above have made you realize that I cannot be around you anymore, just give me the word. I will be out of your life and back in Skoedal before you know it, and you can think it all a mere bad dream. If you’ll have me, I promise to be the most loyal knight you’ve ever had. And most of all, your friend, for that is all we can ever be._

_You have my life in your hands now. This letter can be the end of me if you wish it. Do with it as you want, and know you have my trust._

_Forever yours,_

_Max._


	7. Survivors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know if you all know about the new Max documentary that was made, but since I'm Dutch I already have it on demand and I watched it and uuuuuggggghhhhhh. If anything it endeared me more to him, which I didn't expect at all.  
> That poor baby :(  
> His actual backstory is not as sad as it is here, but it's pretty sad.
> 
> Anyway, new chapter! I hope you're all done crying over the letter. Sorry btw...  
> Hope you all enjoy this one! Let me know, I always love all of your comments <3

By the time Charles had finished reading all of Max’s words, he was a complete and utter mess. He just could not believe that anyone would have to go through such terrible things in one lifetime. The pages had gone wet with tears as he finished reading, and Charles sniffled as he tried to wipe them away from blurring his eyes. He re-read the letter then. Once, twice, more than ten times in total, memorizing every single detail that Max had put down into words. Charles realized that these words could not stay in existence. They had to be destroyed, or Max would never be able to feel safe again. 

He finally got up from the bed after finding enough strength to do so, walking to the fire and without much ceremony, throwing them into the flames. He watched the fire lick at the pages, slowly burning them down into nothing but ash, like Max’s words had never been there in the first place. Charles didn’t know how to feel. He felt sorry. So, so sorry for Max. That he had to live through this. That he had never been able to tell anyone else how he was feeling. He truly didn’t understand how the man could possibly think that this would mean Charles didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, if anything, it made him only more sympathetic to Max’s hardships.

But he was angry too. So unbelievably fucking angry. Max’s father was guilty of terrible crimes, and he deserved to be punished. At the same time, Charles knew that it was never going to happen. Lord Verstappen was simply way too powerful, and Max would never allow his family to be attacked in that way. He was too proud. It was the biggest mess that Charles had ever found himself right in the middle of, and he didn’t know what to do about it. He just knew that the only thing in his mind right then was that he wanted to see Max more than anything.

And so Charles decided that that was exactly what he was going to do. He freshened himself up a little first, making sure that his red eyes and tearstains weren’t so obvious anymore, before he took a deep breath and decided that he was ready. He marched out of his room, startling Paulo who pretty much jumped up into the air. ‘’Y-your Highness…’’ He said, clearing his throat. ‘’How uhm…how might I be of service?’’ He asked the Prince.

‘’Take me to Max.’’ Charles ordered then, and Paulo’s expression turned into a bit of a frown. ‘’Knight commander Verstappen…?’’ He asked. ‘’Well he asked not to…’’ He started to say, but was shut up by an absolutely deathly glare that Charles sent him. ‘’Are you valuing a command by him over one of mine?’’ He demanded from the knight, who swallowed thickly and quickly shook his head. ‘’O-of course not, Your Highness…follow me please.’’ He told the man, before he walked off in the direction of Max’s chambers.

Despite his current station as a knight commander of the Crownsguard, Max was still the son of one of the highest ranking lords in the realm. And so he was put in chambers to reflect that. To Charles’ surprise, they were actually pretty close to his own, and he hummed as Paulo knocked on the door and reached forward to open it. Before he did though, Charles reached out and put a hand on the knight’s shoulder. ‘’Thank you Paulo, that will be all.’’ He told the man, before he simply pushed past him and entered Max’s chambers, closing the door behind.

Max was sitting at a desk, his back turned towards the door. He had a few candles lit on the desk itself, and it looked like he was writing a letter. He sighed as Charles closed the door and put his quill down a little aggressively. ‘’I thought I told you not to disturb me.’’ He said, frustration audible in his voice. Charles, suddenly feeling a little nervous about what to say or do, leaned against the wall next to the door and bit down on his lip, before he cleared his throat. ‘’Hi Max…’’ He finally said quietly.

He could see that Max froze up almost the instant that he started talking, and he slowly turned around to face the Prince. It took exactly one glance into Charles’ eyes before Max spoke, his tone sounding a little resigned. ‘’You read the letter…’’ He said, before he swallowed thickly and started looking a little nervous. ‘’Why are you here, Charles?’’ He asked, his voice suddenly sounding almost uncharacteristically soft and unsure of himself. He caught himself then, and quickly sat up a little straighter. ‘’I-I mean Your Highness, of course.’’ He said, his mouth trying to force itself into a polite smile before he just completely gave up.

Charles watched as Max’s walls seemed to almost fade completely. The man let out a shaky breath, staring down at the ground as he put his elbows on his thighs and put his face in his hands. ‘’Is this it then?’’ He asked after a minute. ‘’Have you come to tell me to go home?’’ He asked quietly, unable to look Charles in the eye. It made Charles frown, and he quickly shook his head. ‘’No…’’ He told Max. ‘’Not at all.’’ 

He walked over to the knight then and sank down onto his knees. When Max lifted his head to look at Charles, the Prince gently took his hands and gave Max a kind smile. ‘’I’m not here to do that at all, Max.’’ He repeated himself, before he placed a little kiss on the man’s knuckles, just like Max had once done to him. ‘’I would never sent you away, not after knowing what an incredible man you are.’’ 

Max winced at those words, and he quickly shook his head. ‘’But you read what I did. What I am. What I’m not. How can you…How can you still want me around…?’’ He asked quietly. It was clear to Charles that all of Max’s walls were coming down now. The tough, strong knight that he had seen up until now looked so vulnerable, and Charles just wanted to take care of him.

‘’Because you are a survivor, Max.’’ Charles said quietly. ‘’There was nothing. Absolutely nothing that you could have done in that situation to save him. And I know that you won’t believe me when I tell you this, but it wasn’t your fault. It really wasn’t.’’ He gently caressed Max’s hand as he held it and sighed deeply. ‘’What was done to you was absolutely unforgivable. But the fact that you got through it makes you absolutely extraordinary.’’ Max sniffled a little then, finally meeting Charles’ gaze and looking down into his eyes.

‘’I just don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.’’ Max whispered then. He looked so scared as he looked into Charles’ eyes. So sad, so heartbroken. Charles suddenly felt like his heart was crying out. He didn’t know what suddenly came over him, but before he knew it, he had leaned in, his lips pressed against Max’s. He gently kissed the knight for a moment, before he pulled away and placed his forehead against Max’s, his eyes still closed.

‘’I’m not him, Maxy.’’ Charles said quietly. ‘’I can take care of myself. And more importantly, I have you to take care of me now.’’ He said quietly. He suddenly felt Max’s arms around his waist as he was pulled in close, and he felt Max shaking his head. ‘’I couldn’t protect him, Charles. How do you know I can protect you?’’ He whispered in return.

Charles pulled away a little more then, opening his eyes to look back into Max’s. ‘’Because that was four years ago. You’re older now. Wiser. Stronger. And you will not make the same mistake twice.’’ He gently brushed away the tear that rolled down Max’s cheek and gave him a sad smile. ‘’I know how you knew how to take care of my nightmares now.’’ He said quietly, getting a nod from Max in return. ‘’I have them too.’’ He replied in the same hushed tone. ‘’Almost every night.’’

Charles nodded softly at that and gave Max a sad smile. ‘’I understand how you feel.’’ He told the knight quietly. ‘’Honestly, I do.’’ He could see the doubt in Max’s eyes then. He recognized it, because Charles had felt the exact same way for years when people told him they understood his pain. They didn’t. He took a deep breath then, realizing that he too needed to let down his walls and tell Max his inner doubts to make him believe him. 

‘’Remember my nightmare from a few nights ago? When I told you it was about my dad?’’ Charles asked quietly. Max nodded softly then, before he bit his lip. ‘’Charles, you don’t have to do this. Honestly. I-‘’ He started, but Charles interrupted him. ‘’Shut up.’’ He told the knight. ‘’You are going to shut up and listen to me, alright?’’ He said seriously, causing Max to just nod softly and stay silent.

‘’I was 12 when there was the celebration of the 500th year since the conquest of the entirety of Astral by my ancestor. There were celebrations and parties all over the capital, and to top it all off, there was going to be a big parade. My father decided to take me with him for the parade. It was to be my first time out in the open like that, and he wanted it to be a good and happy occasion.’’ Charles had to stop then for a moment, swallowing thickly as he already found that telling the story was bringing up memories that he would much rather forget.

He let out a shaky breath, when he suddenly felt Max’s hand taking his own, squeezing gently to assure him that it was okay. It gave Charles the strength to continue talking. ‘’We were about halfway through the route when it happened. Out of nowhere, a mass of people descended on us, killing our guards and getting closer to us by the second. My dad he…he only looked at me, only wanted to protect me. He told me time and time again that it would be okay, that we would be safe, until we weren’t. Every time I close my eyes I can still see his face as he was stabbed in the back.’’

Charles’ eyes fell closed then, and he could feel a tear running down his cheek. ‘’In the end I got saved, but every day since I ask myself if my dad would still be alive if I hadn’t been there. If it was my fault that he died. If I am just a burden to the people who love me.’’ He let out another shaky breath then, shaking his head after. ‘’So…I think I understand what your pain is like, Max.’’ His voice was just above a whisper at this point, and Charles swallowed thickly again before he opened his eyes.

When he finally opened them again, Max was giving him a concerned look. He was still holding Charles’ hand, but he used his free one to reach out and gently brush the tear from the Prince’s cheek. ‘’I didn’t know that.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I-I mean, I obviously knew what happened to your dad, but…I didn’t know that you were there with him.’’ 

Charles’ hand was trembling as he balled it into a fist, and he nodded softly. ‘’I watched my father die in front of me. Maybe because of me. I have to live with that. We both have pain in us, Max. More than I think either of us can handle on our own. But we can’t let it control us. We can’t let it stop us from living our lives and being happy.’’ When Charles finally stopped talking, Max gave the Prince a small smile and gently pulled him in to sit in his lap. He wrapped his arms around Charles’ waist and sighed deeply.

‘’You drive me insane, Charles. My heart screams that I should kiss you right now, but my head is still telling me constantly not to do this. That you’ll be in danger because of me.’’ Max said quietly. It made Charles huff a little in return, shaking his head. ‘’Then maybe you should do a little less thinking, and a little more kissing.’’ The words made Max chuckle, and he finally did lean in and pressed his lips gently against Charles’. 

Within a few seconds, it got a little more heated, and Max pulled away with a bit of a frown. ‘’You have been drinking.’’ He said, rather than asked as he could taste it on the Prince. ‘’Yes…?’’ Charles replied, looking a little confused all of a sudden. ‘’Is that not allowed?’’ He asked Max, who sighed softly. ‘’It is, but I’m not going to have sex with you if you’re drunk.’’ He told the Prince, whose eyes widened almost instantly.

‘’O-oh…’’ Charles answered, instantly blushing deeply. ‘’Y-you were….oh.’’ He said, stumbling over his words and losing any train of thought almost the instant that it started. Max only frowned deeper at that reaction and let go of Charles a little, not holding him so impossibly close anymore. ‘’Did you not…? I thought…’’ He said, all while Charles’ face turned redder by the moment.

‘’I thought we were just kissing…’’ Charles finally said, biting down on his bottom lip a little as he nervously fidgeted around in Max’s lap. ‘’I haven’t actually…ever…you know…’’ He added, and that’s when the penny finally dropped with the knight. ‘’Ooooooohhhhhh…’’ Max said, and it was now his turn to look a little sheepish. ‘’Oh gods, I’m so sorry Charles. I just assumed that with your looks and how much of a smooth talker you are you obviously had…’’ Max caught himself then and sighed to stop himself from talking too much. ‘’I’m sorry.’’ He finally decided on.

‘’That’s okay...’’ Charles said quietly. He didn’t really know how to act anymore, and so he finally got up from Max’s lap. ‘’I think I should go to bed.’’ He told the knight, who sighed and nodded softly. ‘’Yeah, I guess that would be best.’’ He told the Prince, giving him a bit of a sad smile.

Charles stopped moving for a second then, clearly thinking something up as he bit down on his lip and glanced at Max. ‘’Do you want to come with me?’’ When that earned him a look from Max, he quickly continued. ‘’I-I don’t mean to have sex, but…you did say that that night in the tent was the best night’s sleep you’ve had in years and I thought that maybe we could try that again.’’ He gently told the man.

Max hummed softly, taking a moment to think it over, before he finally got up from his chair. ‘’One second.’’ He told Charles, before he walked over to the door and opened it. ‘’You’re dismissed, Paulo.’’ He told the on-duty knight. ‘’I’ll take it from here.’’ Charles could hear Paulo take an intake of breath, seemingly about to respond, but Max cut him off before he could. ‘’Do not even think about arguing with a direct order. Now, Paulo.’’ He told the knight, who nodded softly. ‘’Yes, my Lord.’’ He told Max, before he quickly went on his way. 

Max watched Paulo walk off and waited for a moment for the silence to return, before he turned back to Charles with a smile. ‘’Your Highness, would you allow me to escort you to your chambers?’’ He asked, making Charles chuckle a little. ‘’I would be delighted.’’ He told the knight, walking with him the short way back to his bedroom.

Once they got there, Charles suddenly felt a little awkward. He would have to undress in front of Max, and it wasn’t like he was ashamed or anything, but just the thought of undressing and getting into bed with the knight was making him feel a little hot all of a sudden. Apparently, Max noticed, because he was halfway through taking his leather armour off when he stopped and walked over to Charles, taking his hands and giving him a sweet smile.

‘’We don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable, Charles.’’ Max told the Prince. ‘’If I had known that you weren’t experienced I never would’ve tried to escalate things in the first place. We can take this as slow as you like, no problem.’’ Max’s words seemed to reassure him a little then, and the Prince leaned in to kiss Max again. When he pulled away, he smiled and proceeded to take his shirt off, quickly followed by his pants and everything else he had on apart from his underwear, before he quickly crawled into the oversized bed.

‘’Now can you please come in here, because I’m cold.’’ Charles complained as he still smiled over at the man he could now maybe start to consider as his boyfriend. At least in private. Charles’ words appeared to bring Max back to his senses, and he cleared his throat for a moment, before he too undressed and got into bed with the Prince. ‘’Sorry,’’ He apologized as he got in. ‘’I just…you’re so fucking gorgeous and I was distracted for a moment.

The words made Charles blush, and he almost giggled a little as he cuddled in close to Max and shamelessly felt up the man’s arms a little. ‘’Speak of yourself.’’ He said quietly, before he started to kiss his boyfriend again. That continued for a while, until Max finally pulled away with a fond smile. ‘’Alright, that’s enough. We both have a busy day tomorrow and it’s getting really late. Or early, depending on how you’re feeling.’’

Charles hummed softly at that and got comfortable in Max’s arms, settling in for the night. ‘’Goodnight, Maxy.’’ He said quietly. He didn’t get a verbal answer from Max, only a kiss on the top of his head, as he drifted off into one of the most peaceful sleeps of his life.


	8. Boyfriend (Smut)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut warning! It's not too much, but it's still present in the chapter. You've been warned!
> 
> Love you all so much for sticking with me and the amazing comments on the last chapter. Every new comment makes me so happy! <3
> 
> It's a super busy time, so Merry Christmas in advance if I can't post anymore before then!

Charles woke up to soft kisses being placed on the back of his neck. He let out a pleased hum at the feeling and cuddled a little closer to the warm, comfortable presence behind him that was holding him close. ‘’Goodmorning, my Prince.’’ Max whispered, placing another kiss in Charles’ neck as he held the man close in his arms. The greeting made Charles hum again, and he almost purred like a cat as he stretched out his limbs. ‘’I don’t think I’ve ever been this comfy in my life.’’ He finally mumbled, taking in a deep breath as he felt Max’s fingers gently running over his arm.

‘’Have you been up long?’’ Charles asked then, giggling a little as he could pretty much hear Max shaking his head behind him. ‘’Not long. But you looked to beautiful not to kiss.’’ The man replied quietly. The words made Charles blush a little, and he waited a moment before he turned around in Max’s arms, smiling sleepily at his boyfriend. ‘’You were looking at the back of my head, Maxy.’’ He told the knight, who chuckled in return.

‘’Is that pet name going to be a regular thing from now on? Cause I kinda like it.’’ Max told Charles, placing a little kiss on his nose before he smiled a little wider. ‘’And I know. But even the back of your head is pretty. And I was holding you in my arms, so most of your body isn’t a secret to me anymore anyway.’’ Max commented in return.

Charles couldn’t help but grin when Max decided that he liked his pet name. He leaned in then, kissing Max properly and smiling to himself as he pulled away. ‘’I’ve never actually had a boyfriend before, so this is all new to me.’’ He admitted quietly, and Max nodded softly. ‘’I figured that, but that’s okay. Like I said last night, we’ll take everything as nice and slow as you want to go. No pressure whatsoever. I need to keep my Prince happy after all.’’ 

Charles giggled again at Max’s words, and his smile only grew wider. ‘’Oh it’s going to be so hard not to kiss you all day when you’re looking so nice and handsome in your Crownsguard armour.’’ He said as he ran a finger down his boyfriend’s broad chest. ‘’And I can’t wait to tell Pierre about this. He’ll be so excited.’’ Max froze up then, and he grabbed Charles’ hand as it ran down his chest.

‘’Charles…you can’t tell Pierre about us…please.’’ Max told his boyfriend, looking a little distressed all of a sudden. ‘’I know that he’s your best friend and that you tell him everything, but…you can’t trust anyone. I learned that the hard way.’’ Max closed his eyes for a second then, needing a moment to himself before he looked back at Charles. 

Charles had to blink a few times as he processed this and bit his lip. ‘’But…o-okay…’’ He said as he saw just how much the idea of him telling Pierre absolutely terrified his boyfriend. ‘’But you know that I trust Pierre completely, right? I trust him with my life. Nobody in this world knows more about me than he does.’’ Charles didn’t really know how to feel about this. He understood where Max was coming from, he truly did, but Pierre was his absolute best friend in the world. He knew every single one of his secrets, and he didn’t know how he would ever keep this from him.

‘’I know that you do, Charles. But please don’t tell him.’’ Max said again, and Charles nodded in return. ‘’I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to, Maxy.’’ He finally told his boyfriend, before he leaned in for another kiss. ‘’But how about you start putting yourself on the night shift with me pretty much every single day from now on? Because I’m really enjoying myself.’’ Max chuckled softly at Charles’ excitement and just smiled fondly at him.

‘’You’re so cute.’’ He said quietly, gently pushing his fingers through Charles’ hair as they cuddled together. ‘’I’m really pleased that you forced me to get together with you.’’ He admitted. The words earned him a bright smile from the Prince, who kissed Max again, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Charles instantly groaned, burying his face in Max’s shoulder for a moment. ‘’That’ll be my wake up…Can you just…hide under the covers. It’ll be fine.’’ He told the man. 

Max gave Charles a disbelieving look for a moment, before the Prince finally pushed his boyfriend underneath the covers, as the servant entered the room. The young woman seemed a little surprised that Charles was awake already, but she quickly bowed. ‘’Your Highness.’’ She greeted him, before she went to open the curtains to let in the sun. ‘’Your Highness, would you like breakfast here or down….stairs….?’’ As she turned around, the servant stopped talking for a moment, as the sunlight now made it very clear that Charles was not alone in bed. 

She was staring with rather wide eyes, and Charles cleared his throat then to get his servant’s attention. ‘’Here in about half an hour will be great, thank you.’’ He told her, his tone indicating very much that he wanted to her to leave that instant. The young woman caught on almost immediately, and quickly bowed for her Prince, before she left the room.

Charles burst into giggles almost the instant that the door was closed again, and he threw the covers off of Max so that he could look down at his boyfriend. ‘’Well that was funny.’’ He told the man, whereas Max just sighed deeply. ‘’This is exactly the kind of thing I’m afraid of.’’ He told Charles. ‘’I should get dressed and leave you to your breakfast.’’ He said then, moving to get out of bed.

As Max tried to get out, Charles grabbed his arm and did his very best to pull him back down with him. ‘’Maxy, I didn’t buy half an hour extra for nothing. Please stay a little longer…?’’ He asked, giving the man his best puppy-eyes. It made Max groan a little, and he leaned back down to kiss his boyfriend. ‘’You are too cute and I already know it’s going to be the death of me.’’ He told Charles, who chuckled happily to himself. ‘’Well I have what I want, so I’m all good.’’ 

The Prince cuddled close to his boyfriend again and started to shamelessly make out with him. He ended up on top of Max, the man’s hands running over his back, with one of them finally ending up on his ass. It made Charles groan a little, letting out a moan when he felt Max squeezing the skin. He could feel Max getting a little turned on then against his hip and pulled away from his boyfriend. He looked down at the knight, biting on his bottom lip. Charles didn’t know if he looked good or not, but given the dark, turned on look Max was currently giving him, he figured he had looked worse in his life.

‘’Fuck, you’re so unbelievably gorgeous.’’ Max told his boyfriend, who had gone from confident and climbing on top of him, getting what he wanted, to insecure and unsure of himself. ‘’What’s wrong, beautiful?’’ He asked, reaching up to gently caress Charles’ cheek. ‘’I…I want to go further with you. I want to touch you. But I don’t really know how….’’ The Prince admitted quietly.

Max’s face just broke into the biggest, most loving smile and he leaned up to gently kiss Charles. ‘’You don’t have to, Charles.’’ He said quietly, getting an instant answer from the Prince. ‘’I want to.’’ He insisted. Max hummed then, laying back down and putting a hand back on Charles’ ass, giving it a squeeze. ‘’Just do whatever you want and what feels natural, beautiful. I don’t expect anything, I’m happy to just hold you and make out with you.’’

Charles smiled a little more then, leaning down to kiss Max again. They made out for another minute or two, before Charles’ hand started moving down Max’s chest. He hesitated for a moment, before he moved his fingers underneath his boyfriend’s underwear and wrapped them around his cock. Max gasped softly when he felt Charles’ fingers, and the Prince instantly bit his lip. ‘’Is this okay?’’ He asked quietly, making Max nod quickly. ‘’Y-yeah, just…fuck, it’s been a while.’’ He told his boyfriend.

Charles continued then, slowly jerking Max off and pushing his underwear down after a minute to give himself a little more space to do so. ‘’You’re big…’’ Charles noted, and he couldn’t help but imagine how it would be if they went even further than this. The words made Max chuckle, even though it turned into another moan about halfway through when Charles sped up a little. 

‘’Fuck, Charles. I’m not gonna last long with you being so…fuck you’re incredible.’’ Max told his boyfriend, who giggled happily in return. He didn’t mind whether Max lasted long or not, he just wanted to make his boyfriend happy. He continued to jerk Max off in a way that he knew he’d enjoy himself, an it wasn’t long after that Max finally came all over his own stomach and Charles’ hand, making an absolute mess as he moaned.

Charles watched in amazement for a moment, before a hand turned his face around and he was kissed deeply by his boyfriend. ‘’You’re absolutely fucking incredible.’’ Max told him, taking a deep breath before he ran his fingers down Charles’ arm, finally taking his hand and lacing their fingers together. ‘’Would you like me to absolutely blow your mind?’’ He asked his boyfriend then, who blushed a little. ‘’What do you have in mind?’’ He asked quietly. He was getting a bit more comfortable about his, but it still felt a little awkward to Charles. He just hoped it would go away in time.

‘’How about you get nice comfortable here and I’ll quickly go and clean up and then I’ll blow you?’’ Max suggested, placing a little kiss on Charles’ nose as the Prince only turned redder. ‘’I…you’d do that for me?’’ He asked the man, who snorted and shook his head. ‘’It’d be my pleasure to suck you off, babe. Can’t wait to see the view from down there.’’ He added with a grin. ‘’Y-yeah, okay.’’ Charles finally said, and Max grinned before he jumped out of bed.

The knight pulled his underwear back up, before he disappeared for a moment, finding some cloth to clean himself before he came back and did the same for Charles’ hand. He sat down on his knees between Charles’ legs then and hummed as he put his hands on the Prince’s underwear. ‘’Is this alright then?’’ He asked, making Charles nod quickly. ‘’Please.’’ The Prince said.

With that, Max pulled down Charles’ underwear completely and laid down between the Prince’s legs. It was obvious how hard Charles still was for him, and Max gently wrapped his fingers around his boyfriend’s cock first, slowly jerking him off to ease him into this a little. ‘’O-oh…’’ Charles immediately went, his head falling back and his eyes falling shut as the feeling overwhelmed him a little. ‘’Good?’’ Max asked with a smirk.

Charles opened his mouth and was about to answer, when he suddenly felt something wet and warm enveloping his cock. He let out a gasp, immediately followed by a deep moan, and opened his eyes to look down. The sight itself, with his boyfriend’s lips wrapped around his cock, almost sent him over the edge immediately. ‘’Fuck…Maxy…’’ He mumbled.

All coherent thought left Charles’ head as soon as Max started to properly suck him off. It was complete sensory overload, and the young Prince couldn’t do anything other than hold on for dear life to whatever fabric he managed to get a hold of. His hips were constantly trying to buck up involuntarily, but Max had put an arm over his hips to keep him down.

It wasn’t much more than a minute later that Charles started to let out little whimpers, trying his best to let Max know that he was so close to coming. In the end, the Prince just couldn’t hold back anymore, letting out a long, loud moan as he shot his load into his boyfriend’s mouth. Max was a little surprised by the suddenness of it, but he managed to swallow most of it before sitting back on his knees and wiping his mouth as he smiled down at Charles. 

He left for another moment then, presumably to clean his face, and when he returned he cleaned up Charles, before Max laid down on top of Charles, holding himself up on his elbows so that the weight wouldn’t be too much. ‘’Charles? Beautiful? You still with me?’’ He asked quietly. After coming, Charles had pretty much fallen into a half-asleep, blissful state, which he only now came back out of.

He blinked a few times, blushing as he looked up at Max, before he nodded softly. ‘’Thank you.’’ He said quietly. Max started to laugh again at that, leaning down and kissing his boyfriend softly. ‘’My pleasure, beautiful. Making you happy makes me happy.’’ He gently started to play with Charles’ hair as they laid there together, until Max finally hummed softly. ‘’Alright, duty calls for real now, and I imagine you have things to do today as well.’’

Charles started to pout a little then and sighed deeply. ‘’Buy whyyyyyyy.’’ He demanded to know from his boyfriend, who fondly rolled his eyes. ‘’Trust me, if it were up to me I would never let you leave this bed ever again, but we both have duties to get to, beautiful.’’ He kissed Charles again, before he finally stepped out of bed and started getting dressed again for the day. 

When Max was finally done, he kissed Charles one final time, before he quickly left the room. It ended up being just in time, because the servant returned with Charles’ breakfast only a few minutes later. She bowed to Charles, handing him his breakfast, before she stood to the side. ‘’Forgive me, Your Highness, but His Majesty asked to see you at your first convenience.’’ She told Charles, before she bowed again and left the room.

As the door closed, Charles groaned again. Whenever he was summoned, it was absolutely never good. If Lorenzo had anything just nice and pleasant to tell him, he’d just tell him at dinner or something. Once he’d finished with his breakfast, Charles finally got himself out of bed. He got dressed then, after spending some time fussing over figuring out exactly what to wear. He’d always been focused on his appearance, but now that he had a boyfriend, he had someone special to look his best for.

When Charles finally decided he’d done enough, he left his chambers and ordered a guard to take him to Lorenzo. He found his brother in an office, speaking to someone who was sitting with their back turned towards the doorway. When he finally walked in far enough to see who it was, Charles stopped in his tracks for a moment, before he regained his composure and bowed. ‘’Your Majesty.’’ He said, although he could not stop glancing at Max. Why was he there? Had Lorenzo figured out somehow already? Max would never forgive him.

‘’Charles.’’ Lorenzo greeted, a pleased smile on his face. ‘’Please, sit.’’ He told his brother. He waited patiently for Charles to sit down, before he continued. ‘’I won’t talk around the point of this meeting. I have been getting an increasing numbers of worrying reports of growing rebellion to the Crown in Skoedal. I want the two of you to head there and make a sort of…charm offensive. A show of unity between the heirs of both Skoedal and the Crown will do us a lot of good, and I’d rather we try and fix this with diplomacy, rather than sending in the Royal army to stop any true rebellion from taking shape. Can I count on your support?’’

As Lorenzo finished talking, Charles glanced to Max. The knight was still sitting up straight, so still he almost looked like a statue. The only way that Charles noticed the absolute, utter panic in his boyfriend was the way his eyes were slightly widened and his breathing was a little shaky. Charles turned back to Lorenzo then, hoping to talk his way out of this. ‘’Brother, are you sure this is a good idea? You never wanted me out of the palace and now you’re sending me to a place of rebellion?’’

Lorenzo chuckled a little at that. ‘’Well back then you didn’t have the best swordsman in the realm as your personal bodyguard. And besides, given the close friendship I’ve seen you two develop I imagine you’ll be more than safe in Max’s care. And you aren’t there to go out into the streets, just as a sign of goodwill between Skoedal and the Crown.’’ Charles was about to continue, to protest a little further, but Max spoke before he could.

‘’I will keep him safe, Your Majesty. If it is the last thing that I do, I swear I will keep him safe.’’


	9. Homebound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I just managed to get one in before Christmas, yay!  
> Consider it my gift to you all :p
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and I wish you all the best of Christmases <3

‘’I will keep him safe, Your Majesty. If it is the last thing that I do, I swear I will keep him safe.’’

Lorenzo smiled at Max and nodded. ‘’Thank you, Max. I will have all the arrangements made and I will get back to the both of you as soon as we’ve settled on a date for your departure.’’ He told the pair, his tone indicating that they were very much dismissed. As they started to walk out though, Lorenzo cleared his throat. ‘’Charles, can you stay behind for a moment? I need to talk to you.’’ Charles could barely keep himself from groaning out loud, but he did finally sit down, sending Max a reassuring look before the knight went on his way again.

Charles sighed a little after Max had left the room, looking at his brother as he crossed his arms. ‘’What is it now?’’ He asked the man, who raised an eyebrow. ‘’Why do you think that every single time that I want to talk to you it’s to scold you?’’ Lorenzo asked, making Charles shrug. ‘’Because you are scolding me about nine times out of ten, so it’s easier to just always assume it.’’

Lorenzo shook his head and sighed softly. ‘’Well…this is one of those times.’’ He told the young Prince. ‘’Rumours quickly spread, Charles. I understand that you’re at an age where you’re experimenting and you have your urges, but it’s really unbecoming of a Prince of Astral to be found with someone else in his bed. Especially when we’re guests in someone else’s home. And really, it’s not a great idea to sleep with you guards, little brother. It’ll only cause trouble.’’

Charles listened to his brother, his mouth falling a little open as he listened. He wanted to respond, but he seemed lost for words for the moment. He finally cleared his throat as he blushed. ‘’I….H-how do you know who I slept with…?’’ He finally managed to ask quietly. ‘’You have a guard stationed permanently outside your room, Charles. When said guard is not there in the morning and there’s someone in your bed, people can add those things together.’’

Lorenzo sighed softly. ‘’So I don’t know what kind of relationship you and Paulo are developing, but you know there are rules for matches with our family. And Paulo is nowhere near highborn enough to meet those standards.’’ Charles just stared at his brother in absolute disbelief. People genuinely thought that he slept with Paulo? Then again…Max would probably find this rumour preferable to people knowing that is was actually him who slept with Charles. 

Charles took a deep breath then, before he looked back at his brother. ‘’You’re okay with me sleeping with a guy though…?’’ He asked quietly, making Lorenzo shrug. ‘’Of course, why wouldn’t I be?’’ He asked with a bit of a frown, like it was the most normal thing in the world. ‘’Because they aren’t okay with it where Max is from…’’ Charles said. Lorenzo sighed deeply in response then. ‘’Well…They are a lot more conservative up there than we are here. But really, I am fine with it Charles. You have nothing to worry about on that account. Just please don’t let it be known so easily that you’re sleeping around when you’re not married.’’

Charles nodded softly then. ‘’Are you going to do anything about Paulo…?’’ He asked his brother. He wanted to make sure that the knight wouldn’t be in trouble, given that he hadn’t done anything. ‘’No.’’ Lorenzo easily answered. ‘’We don’t officially know that is was Paulo, so he’ll be left alone. I imagine you wouldn’t be happy with me if I did anything either.’’ He said with a small smile. ‘’No, I wouldn’t.’’ Charles answered, before he got up. ‘’Can I go now?’’

‘’Yes, of course. I’ll see you later.’’ Lorenzo said, giving his brother a smile before Charles went on his way. Once he walked outside of the room, Charles had to take a moment first to rub his face and process the incredible awkwardness of the conversation he’d just had. Next, there was really on person he could go and see, given that Max would probably be busy having a little panic attack about having to go home to Skoedal, and that was Pierre.

His best friend wasn’t that hard to find. His wounds and muscle aches from the tournament the day before meant that Pierre was stuck in his room for the time being, reading a book in a comfy chair. He looked up when Charles entered and as soon as the door fell shut, broke into the biggest grin Charles had ever seen on his friend’s face. ‘’I am so fucking proud of you!’’ He told the Prince, getting up from his chair and walking over to give Charles the tightest hug that he could manage. ‘’I wanna hear everything. Was Paulo as good in bed as that little smile of him would suggest?’’

Charles groaned at Pierre’s words, but hugged the man back nonetheless. When he pulled away, he decided that it would probably be best to try and deflect from the questioning. ‘’You know this is the second time you called him hot, right? Do you want me to send him to your room tonight?’’ Charles teased, sending Pierre into laughter as the man pulled away.

‘’Oh, isn’t he going to be busy in your room tonight?’’ Pierre asked with a smirk, before he slowly sat back down into a chair. ‘’Oh gods, days after a tournament are even worse than the pain on the day itself. I just hope Max is feeling as bad as I am today.’’ Charles blushed a little then, his mind going back to his fun with Max that morning. ‘’He seemed to be doing alright when I saw him just now, actually….’’ He told Pierre, who sighed deeply.

‘’I hate how fit he is. And how he beat me. And how you have the biggest crush on the guy who beat me. Feels like the entire universe is against me to be honest.’’ Pierre told his friend, who chuckled as he sat down across from him. ‘’I still love you though.’’ Charles offered. Pierre smiled in return. ‘’Love you, too.’’ He replied immediately, before he relaxed and just smiled. ‘’But seriously though, how was your first time? Better or worse than you imagined?’’

Charles let out a loud groan then and threw his head back as he closed his eyes for a moment. ‘’Pierre, I really, really, really don’t want to talk about this. Not with you, not with anyone. It’s private. Please?’’ He pleaded with his friend, who finally seemed to give up. ‘’Fiiiiiine.’’ Pierre answered. ‘’I’ll stop bugging you about it. But do you feel confident enough to approach Max yet? He seems like he’d jump on you at the first opportunity.’’

Charles shrugged then. ‘’I don’t know. I don’t wanna ruin things between us, so I might just wait it out a while longer and get to know him better first.’’ Pierre hummed at that. ‘’That sounds surprisingly reasonable. And so very much unlike a certain Prince I know, who is used to always getting what he wants the instant that he wants it.’’ Charles rolled his eyes then before he replied ‘’Haha, very funny.’’ The Prince told Pierre. He was used to the teasing, at least from Pierre. His best friend was pretty much the only one who was allowed to do so. 

Charles wanted to spend his time with Pierre, his last day with the man before heading home, talking about a lot of things. His relationship with Max, his forced upcoming trip to Skoedal and really everything that Max had put in his letter and that was still burning a hole into Charles’ heart. And yet he didn’t, because Max asked him not to. It took a lot of willpower, but he didn’t.

Instead, Charles managed to have a really nice, carefree day with Pierre, away from any stress and worries and all of that. They just enjoyed themselves together, had a nice drink and ended up having dinner with just the two of them. When Charles finally returned to his chambers, he was a little tipsy, humming happily to himself as his Crownsguard escorted him back. He gasped softly when he saw Max in full armour waiting at his room. ‘’Hi Max.’’ He said happily.

The man in question bowed and smiled. ‘’Your Highness.’’ He greeted, before he glanced at the escorting Crownsguard. ‘’You’re dismissed, Betin.’’ He told the knight, who also bowed to Charles, before he walked off. Once the knight was out of earshot, Charles practically jumped into Max’s arms, making his boyfriend chuckle. ‘’One second, beautiful.’’ He told Charles, before he took the Prince along into his chambers, closing the door behind them.

Once Max had closed the door, Charles was back on him, kissing him deeply before hugging him tight. ‘’I missed you…’’ He told his boyfriend quietly. ‘’I haven’t seen you all day, since…’’ He said then, remembering the conversation they’d had with Lorenzo in the morning. Charles pulled away then, looking into Max’s eyes with a small frown. ‘’Are you okay…?’’ He asked quietly.

Max sighed deeply then and shrugged a little. ‘’I guess? I have had the entire day to make peace with the fact that we have to go, even though I don’t want to go, and bringing you there is the absolute last thing that I ever would have wanted…but it’s not like we have a choice. It’s been decided.’’ He sighed again then, before his expression turned into a bit of a frown. ‘’There’s actually something that I need to talk to you about.’’

He pulled away from Charles then, sitting down on the bed and patting the space next to him. ‘’Come sit.’’ He told his boyfriend, who easily agreed and sat down. ‘’Am I in trouble? People use that tone with me when I’m in trouble…’’ The question made Max chuckle a little, and he gently placed a kiss on Charles’ hand as he took it again. ‘’No, you’re not in trouble, Charles.’’ He assured the Prince. ‘’But I would like to know exactly how it is that the entire keep thinks that you have been sleeping with Paulo.’’

‘’I…’’ Charles started, before he started to pout a little at his boyfriend. ‘’I’m sorry…It’s just that because Paulo was on duty last night and then this morning he was gone and there was someone in my bed and so people assumed it was him and it’s not like I could say it wasn’t because then Lorenzo and Pierre would figure out that it was you…’’ He said quietly, looking very guilty.

Max just sighed in response and shook his head. ‘’He hasn’t actually made a move on you, has he? Because he was looking a little too comfortable with the rumours for my taste…’’ He narrowed his eyes a little as he spoke, and Charles could see his boyfriend plotting Paulo’s demise already. ‘’No, it’s fine, Maxy.’’ He quickly said, though he blushed a little as he thought about the times he led Paulo on. ‘’Don’t punish Paulo for something he hasn’t done.’’

Max finally hummed and nodded. ‘’Fine.’’ He told Charles, leaning in to place a kiss on his forehead. ‘’Alright, let’s go you undressed and in bed, because you smell like you’ve had some fun hanging out with Pierre.’’ He noted with a bit of a chuckle. Charles giggled a little in return and smiled at Max as he got up and started to take his clothes off. ‘’Only if you do the same and come snuggle with me.’’ He told his boyfriend, who looked a little mesmerized at the sight on front of him. 

‘’Hmmm? Yeah, sure beautiful.’’ Max told the Prince. He got up once Charles was all done and quickly undressed himself, making sure to keep the curtains open. ‘’I want to make sure that I’m up early tomorrow so that I can leave before anyone comes to wake you.’’ He told his boyfriend, before he finally joined him in bed and cuddled close. Paulo happily snuggled into his boyfriend’s side and let out a big yawn. ‘’Goodnight, Maxy.’’ He mumbled, already pretty much gone. He could just make out a little chuckle and a ‘’Goodnight, beautiful.’’ From this boyfriend, before he drifted off.

The next morning ended up being a little hectic. The sunrise had woken them up early enough at least, so Max managed to get out of Charles’ room before anyone came to check on him, and the Prince in question actually managed to be ready for their departure in time. He did end up pushing the schedule back a little bit when he took his sweet time saying goodbye to Pierre, but since it was his best friend, Lorenzo decided not to mention it.

They finally started on their three day journey back to the capital, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. The visit to Turon had gone well, the tournament itself had been a great success, and the men and women in the Royal party were simply excited to head back home and see their families again.

The lands of Nikmaa outside of Turon were most covered in dense forests, and as they rode through them, Max again got the uncomfortable feeling that he had felt on the original journey in the opposite direction. Charles noticed his boyfriend was very tense as they went on, and after hour 5 of their journey that day, he finally found out why.

Charles was doing his best subtle stare in Max’s direction, just enjoying how handsome his boyfriend looked in his armour, riding his horse, when he suddenly saw Max’s head shoot to the side and his eyes widening a little. ‘’DUCK!’’ He called to Charles, reaching out to push the Prince’s head down towards his horse.

Almost instantly, Charles heard an arrow rushing past the back of his head, and a deep groan escaped Max. An instant later, Charles heard more men crying out in pain, before battle horns were sounding from both sides and dozens of bandits suddenly came rushing from the woods, closing in on them from both sides. It was as if the world went silent then, as Charles turned his head to the side and looked at Max.

He saw his boyfriend, his hand clutching the arrow that had lodged itself deep into his shoulder. Max groaned, before he pulled it out with a loud cry of pain and threw it to the ground. He took a few deep breaths then, before he finally met Charles’ gaze. ‘’I’m fine.’’ He groaned, but his tone and the slowly growing red spot on his shoulder told the Prince something else entirely. 

‘’Max…’’ He started to say, but the knight cut him off immediately. ‘’Ride.’’ He told Charles. ‘’The men here will try and take care of this, I need to get you to safety. Make for the inn we stayed at last time, I’ll be right behind you.’’ With that, he hit Charles’ horse on its behind, with the steed immediately jumping into action and galloping off as fast as it could. 

Charles rode through the carnage. There were dead bodies all around, people he thought he knew, and it nearly was too much to bear. Max was right though. He needed to get to safety. He couldn’t die here. He had a duty to himself and to his people. He rode like the wind. Rode until the sound of metal against metal and the cries of men and women in pain died down. He rode as fast as he could for a full hour, knowing that people might be in pursuit, until he finally made it to the inn, where a regiment of Royal Guards was already waiting in preparation for the arrival of the King. 

Max was right behind him, and Charles was trembling as he got off his horse and hugged his boyfriend as tightly as he possibly could. ‘’Please tell me you’re okay.’’ He said quietly, his voice nearly breaking as he felt only Max’s right arm around his waist. ‘’I will be.’’ The knight said quietly. ‘’Come on. Let’s get you inside and get some food in you while we wait for Lorenzo and the others.’’ 

Max helped Charles inside, and he quickly briefed the commander of the Guards stationed there, telling him to send a group of riders to meet the King’s party immediately. He sat down with Charles then as a medic took care of the wound in his shoulder. The arrow had done some damage, but nothing that wouldn’t be able to be healed with time, as long as Max was a little careful.

They waited after that, sitting in silence as neither of them could really eat. It was almost three hours later that Sebastian finally walked into the inn, looking white as a sheet. He bowed to Charles, and the Prince was on his feet before his brother’s adviser could even look up or speak. ‘’How is Lorenzo? Is he okay? Is he hurt at all?’’ He demanded to know.

Seb swallowed thickly then as he finally raised his head again. ‘’Charles…you better come and see for yourself.’’


	10. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you had a good Christmas, I certainly did. And I'm back :D
> 
> Here's the next chapter, prepare yourself, it sad. I'm sorry. But also not.
> 
> Hope you do enjoy, let me know!

‘’Charles…you better come and see for yourself.’’

Those few words managed to make Charles’ heart sink immediately and send his mind into imagining the most horrible things possible. ‘’Is…is he alive?’’ He asked quietly. He could feel his knees going a little weak already, and he might not have been able to keep standing up if it wasn’t for Max coming up behind him and putting his healthy arm around him for some support.

Sebastian nodded softly. ‘’He is, but his wounds are very serious. I…it doesn’t look well if I’m honest, Charles.’’ He finally admitted to the Prince. Charles’ heart only sank further with every word Sebastian uttered, and he could feel a couple of tears starting to well up in his eyes. ‘’I need to see him.’’ He stated, letting out a shaky breath as he tried to steel himself.

Seb nodded in return. ‘’Of course, of course. I’ll take you to see him right now. He wants to see you, too.’’ He walked both Charles and Max to the room Lorenzo had been staying in before. They had brought him up already to get treated as quickly as possible, and medics were already hard at work. As Charles walked in, he could see why. There was a huge, deep wound in Lorenzo’s side, and his entire shirt and leather armour on the left side of his torso had gone deep red with blood. There was an arrow still lodged in his thigh, and the King screamed in pain as one of the medics pulled it out to treat the wound. It looked truly horrific. 

‘’Oh gods, Lorenzo…’’ Charles said quietly. He could feel a few tears rolling down his cheeks, as he slowly walked over to his brother’s healthy side, taking the man’s hand as his own trembled. Lorenzo’s eyes were closed, and he was taking short, shallow breaths to try and work through the pain a little. His eyes opened again once Charles sat down next to him and took his hand, and he managed a small smile at the young Prince.

‘’Little brother…’’ He said quietly. Lorenzo gently squeezed Charles’ hand as he held it. ‘’Are you okay? Are you hurt?’’ He asked. His voice sounded strained, and Charles could tell how much strength it cost Lorenzo to talk at all. He nodded quickly in response. ‘’I’m fine. I’m unhurt. Max saved my life. He took an arrow that was meant for me.’’ He said, the corners of his mouth curling up into a small smile for a moment, before it immediately faded again. 

Lorenzo let out a small sigh of relief, which was immediately followed by a groan of pain as the deep wound on his side was cleaned. He took a long glance at it, before he closed his eyes for a moment and turned to Charles, looking sombre, but steadfast nonetheless. ‘’Charles, if I don’t make it out of this…’’ He started, only to be immediately interrupted by his little brother. ‘’No. Don’t say these things. Of course you’re going to be okay.’’ Charles said, letting out almost a laugh as he desperately tried not to think about the unthinkable outcome, tried to focus his mind on anything else.

When Charles finally fell quiet again and he dared to look his brother in the eye, Lorenzo was still looking at him, the solemn expression replaced by a more loving one. ‘’Little brother, I am so proud of you.’’ He told Charles quietly. ‘’In the past ten years I have seen you grow up from a little boy into a man I am more than proud to call my family, my brother, my heir. You represent the best in all of us. You are kind, smart, know your duty when it comes down to it, and your ability to make people love you with a single smile has made me more jealous than I care to admit.’’ Lorenzo had to take a deep breath then, and Charles took the moment to wipe away the tears that were now rolling down his cheeks, one after the other.

‘’If I don’t make it…’’ Lorenzo said again, and Charles managed to stay quiet this time around. ‘’I know that you will be the best King that this land has ever seen. You will make mistakes. More than you ever thought possible, but as long as you learn from them and surround yourself with people you trust, but will not be afraid to tell you the truth, you’ll come out stronger.’’

Lorenzo swallowed thickly then, sighing before he continued. ‘’And I am sorry. I’m sorry for being so protective over you. For shielding you from the outside world. For not doing my duty in preparing you for the Crown. I just…I just wanted to protect you, Charles. More than anything I needed to make sure you were okay. After dad was gone, keeping you safe was my most important job in the world. I love you, little brother.’’ His head fell back a little then, and Charles could feel Lorenzo’s grip on his hand weakening a little.

He sniffled and wiped at his eyes again to stop them from blurring so much, before he shook his head. ‘’Thank you…’’ He said quietly. ‘’Thank you so much for everything. You always did what you thought what was right, and I could never be mad at you for that. But…please don’t do this to me, Lolo.’’ He whispered, only realizing that he had used his name for Lorenzo he had used as a child when it was out. ‘’Please stay with us…I…I can’t lose you, too. I can’t do this alone.’’

Lorenzo’s eyes had fallen closed as Charles spoke, but he managed to slowly open them to look at his brother and give him a weak smile. ‘’I’ll do my best, little brother.’’ He said quietly as he reached up and gently caressed Charles’ cheek for a moment. ‘’I’ll fight, but I’m so tired…’’ Lorenzo’s eyes fell closed again then, and his arm fell back down onto the bed. Charles let out a broken little sound, and Max quickly reached out to feel Lorenzo’s pulse. 

It was only five seconds, but they were without a doubt the five longest seconds of Charles’ entire life. ‘’He’s still with us.’’ Max finally said quietly. ‘’His pulse is weak, but there. I think he’s just asleep.’’ He told Charles, giving him a hug from behind that Charles immediately leaned into, sucking up all comfort and affection like a sponge. By now, the medics had finished bandaging Lorenzo’s wounds and had silently left the room as they didn’t want to disturb the King and Prince, leaving just Charles, Max and two of Lorenzo’s Kingsguard who were stationed in the room. 

Charles stayed at Lorenzo’s side for a little while longer, wanting to make sure his brother was still breathing. Max tried to gently pull away from the embrace a few times, but Charles immediately stopped him every time, not wanting to let his boyfriend go. He finally wiped his cheeks again, before taking a deep breath. ‘’I want to go to my room.’’ He told Max quietly, who nodded softly in return. ‘’Of course, love.’’ He whispered to the Prince, slowly getting up with him.

As they approached the door, Charles stopped and looked at the Kingsguard. ‘’Any change I want to hear about. Any at all. Don’t think about whether it’s too little to bother me with it, the answer is yes. Am I clear?’’ He said, and the sudden tone in his voice almost scared Max a little. It would have been a bit of a turn on if the situation wasn’t so dire. Both guards bowed immediately and replied with a ‘’Yes, Your Highness.’’ Almost in unison.

Charles walked on after that, letting Max guide him back to his room, because really, he had no idea where he even was anymore. As soon as the Northerner closed the door behind him and hugged Charles tightly, the young Prince broke down again, sobbing loudly in Max’s arms. He had tried to be strong, to not let it get to him so much, but of course it did. His brother was the closest thing to a father figure he had left in this world, and he might be dying. It was absolutely terrifying.

‘’Shhhh.’’ Max said quietly as he held Charles in his arms. ‘’I’ve got you, Charles. I’ve got you.’’ He let the Prince cry for a moment, before he gently moved them over towards the bed and sat down with Charles on his lap, holding him nice and close as he tried to comfort him a little. ‘’Can I do anything for you?’’ He asked the Prince, who shook his head as he buried his face in Max’s shoulder. ‘’Just hold me, please.’’ He begged, needing all the comfort that his Maxy could possibly give him.

‘’I will, Charles. Of course I will.’’ Max assured his boyfriend as he started to gently rub his back. He held Charles for what felt like hours, giving him kisses and telling him pleasant things to try and distract his mind a little from all of his worries. It was only with a knock on the door that Charles suddenly sprung to attention, dusting himself off and straightening out his clothes. ‘’Enter.’’ He finally said, though his voice sounded a bit more broken than he had hoped.

One of the Kingsguard entered the room, and he bowed to Charles. ‘’Your Highness. The King is awake and has had something to eat and drink. His medics tell me that he will likely live if he makes it through the night, but they have asked for him to have peace and quiet so that he can rest and regain his strength.’’ Charles breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded softly, a smile appearing on his face again. ‘’Thank you.’’ He sincerely told the guard. After the man had left, Charles’ arms were instantly around Max’s neck again, although the feeling was very different. He was hopeful, rather than completely heartbroken. 

‘’Glad to see you smiling again, beautiful.’’ Max said quietly as he wrapped his arms snugly around Charles’ waist. He glanced out the window and hummed softly then, seeing that it had gone dark. ‘’How about we get to bed and you try and get some sleep? You must be absolutely exhausted and to be honest…so am I.’’ After Charles had agreed to that, Max let go of his boyfriend to pop his head out of the room and inform the stationed guards that he was going to stay with His Highness through the night, and that absolutely nobody was allowed to enter the room. He made that last bit very clear.

As Max closed the door and turned back around to face his boyfriend, he caught Charles mid-yawn, something that the Prince immediately tried to hide by turning around. Chuckling to himself, Max walked over and hugged Charles from behind, kissing his neck with a pleased sigh. ‘’Let’s get you into bed, gorgeous.’’ He said quietly, pulling away and moving to take his armour off, before he frowned a little. ‘’Can you…Do you think you could help me with my shirt and armour, Charles? I can’t really move my shoulder that much…’’

Charles nodded quickly and looked a little concerned as he helped Max to get out of his armour and shirt. He sighed softly as he looked at the bandage and let his fingers run over it a little. It looked stained with blood, way too much of it for Charles’ taste. As he noticed the frown on his boyfriend’s face, Max leaned over and gave the Prince a soft kiss. ‘’I’m fine, Charles. Honestly. I’ve had much worse than this.’’ He told his boyfriend, who rolled his eyes a little. ‘’I can see that from the insane amount of scars all over your body. That doesn’t mean I have to not care when my boyfriend gets shot with an arrow that almost killed me and is hurt because of it.’’

Max ended up just humming softly in response and distracting Charles with kisses until the Prince finally stopped complaining at him. He then got up and undressed down to his underwear, before he finally got into bed. Once Charles did the same, the Prince quickly cuddled close to his boyfriend. Luckily, Charles insisted on sleeping on Max’s right side, so he wasn’t actually on the Northerner’s bad shoulder as he laid his head down.

Charles relaxed a little now that he was back in Max’s arms. The covers were only at their waists, and so Max’s torso was exposed. It wasn’t long until Charles started to trace the various scars he saw with his fingers, and he hummed softly. ‘’Can you tell me about these?’’ He asked quietly. When it stayed silent for a moment, he looked up and gave his boyfriend a pleading look. ‘’I don’t think I can sleep yet and listening to you calms me down.’’ He explained. ‘’And I want to know more about your past.’’

Max did sigh a little, but it wasn’t like he was going to able to say no to those pretty green eyes staring up at him. Especially not after Charles had had a day like that. So Max started to slowly explain the origins of most of the larger scars he had. ‘’So this one was around…five years or so ago I think.’’ He said as he pointed to a long, wide scar on his side. ‘’I was hunting in the forest with a few of my friends and we were on the trail of this absolutely gigantic boar. And I mean gigantic. Biggest one I’ve ever seen. And well…we had a few drinks for the road and I got a little cocky…and so it got me, right in the side with its tusk.’’ Max blushed as he spoke, obviously embarrassed by the story of him losing to an animal.

‘’This one…’’ He quickly continued, pointing to another on his stomach. ‘’Was more than ten years ago I think. I loved to climb around the castle, even though my mom had told me about a million times already that it was way too dangerous. Then one day, I fell and had a spike make a nasty cut in my stomach. I uh…I climbed a little less after that.’’ Max explained with a bit of a chuckle. He continued to talk for a little while longer, until Charles finally kissed him deeply. 

‘’What was that for…?’’ Max asked, looking a little confused as the Prince pulled away. ‘’For being a tough, rough, sexy man.’’ Charles replied with a chuckle. ‘’And for being lovely and sensitive and opening up to me. More the latter, really.’’ He said with a bit of a grin, making Max roll his eyes. He wasn’t used to being called sensitive, at least not in a positive way, and so it was embarrassing the knight a little. ‘’Just shut up and kiss me.’’ He finally told the Prince, who did not need to be told twice.

It did not take long in the slightest before the pair were full on making out. Max had tried to get on top of Charles, but the ever bossy Prince had insisted he laid down and rest his shoulder. Instead, he got on top of his boyfriend, kissing him deeply and playing with his hair as they made out. He could feel Max’s fingers still running over his skin, and Charles was about to take things a little further when he could just make out the sound of the door behind them opening. It was too late to pull back then, and Charles knew exactly how this looked. He was on top of Max, both half-naked, very clearly making out.

When Charles finally turned around to face whoever it was that had walked in on them, he could see the door falling shut again, leaned against by an incredibly wide-eyed Pierre, whose mouth was falling open as he looked at the scene before him. ‘’I knew it.’’ The man finally said.


	11. Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I am really excited about this one, but no spoilers :D
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it a lot, please let me know what you think about the relationship between the boys <3

‘’I knew it.’’ Pierre muttered quietly as he stared at the scene before him with wide eyes. ‘’I fucking knew it.’’ As soon as Charles saw who it was that had entered their room despite his boyfriend’s strict instructions to the guards, he got off of Max, pulling the covers up to his shoulders to hide himself a little as he looked at his best friend. ‘’P-pierre, I…’’ He started, but his words failed him after that. Charles had no idea what to say, how to explain himself, how to talk himself out of this incredibly awkward situation. He could just look at Pierre, and he could see that the man’s initial shock started to slowly make way for anger in his expression.

‘’Can we talk?’’ Pierre nearly growled at Charles after staring at him for a small eternity, before he shifted his gaze to glare pointedly at Max. ‘’In private.’’ He added. His hands were balled into fists at his side by now, and he was taking deep breaths to try and keep his anger at least somewhat under control. Charles nodded softly in return. Pierre really did not get angry. At all. He was usually almost frighteningly calm, despite Charles’ many attempts to annoy him into lashing out. Charles had really only seen his best friend this angry once or twice in all of their time together and neither of those times had been pretty.

The first time had been when a few months after Charles’ father had died. The young prince was having one of his nightmares while Pierre slept over, and while Pierre did his best to hold Charles and get him to calm down and stop crying, his nanny at the time had told the distraught boy to ‘’Man up and act like a Prince instead of a baby.’’ Pierre had immediately called the guards and had her taken away, getting her dismissed by Lorenzo first thing in the morning, and the two of them had been best friends ever since.

The second was after a private, local tournament held at the estate of one of the Lords of Ostrana, the region Charles’ family directly controlled. The Lord’s son had been calling Charles names for their entire match, trying to psyche him out into creating an opening for an attack. It worked of course, given Charles’ ever fragile mental state, and after he had won, the boy continued to call Charles names, saying he wasn’t worth his title and would have been the shame of his father. Pierre had immediately attacked the boy, beating him up with an immense fury, and Charles had been convinced ever since that he might have killed him if he hadn’t asked him to stop.

After Pierre’s request to speak to him in private, the Prince turned to Max and bit his lip, looking at the man’s wound for a moment as he figured out what would be the best course of action. ‘’You stay here.’’ He finally decided, wanting Max to rest as much as possible, before he got out of bed and blushed deeply as he got dressed as quickly as he possibly could. When he looked up, Pierre was still full on glaring at Max, while the Northerner looked wholly unimpressed with the man and had more eyes for Charles, looking a little worried about him. Nonetheless, he nodded at the order, while Charles followed Pierre out of the room, looking a little nervous.

The Prince did stop for a moment to look at the guards, and took a deep breath before he slipped back into his commanding persona. ‘’When you are given an order to not let anyone in, that means anyone. Now, Knight Commander Verstappen is resting in there, and if you let anyone into this room again, you will regret the day you were born. Did I make your orders clear enough for you this time around?’’ He demanded from them. From the corner of his eye, Charles could just see Pierre, his arms crossed and an amused little smile on his face for the moment. Apparently he enjoyed seeing this side of Charles, too.

The guards quickly bowed. ‘’Apologies, Your Highness. It will not happen again.’’ They promised, and with that, Charles turned around again and walked after Pierre. The man took them to an empty bedroom on the quiet side of the inn and just started to pace around for a moment, before he finally returned to Charles, putting his hands on the Prince’s arms as he looked him up and down. ‘’You’re fine? Not hurt?’’ He checked, and when Charles nodded that he was perfectly fine, Pierre suddenly moved with lightning speed to punch him in the stomach, only stopping about an inch from Charles’ shirt.

He groaned in frustration then, finally punching the door instead of his best friend. He groaned in pain afterwards, rubbing his fist as he looked very much in pain. ‘’W-why did you do that…?’’ Charles asked, earning himself a long glare from Pierre. ‘’Because my best friend is an absolute fucking dickhead who goes and fucks his bodyguard when his brother is in another room, fighting to survive!’’ He yelled in the Prince’s face.

‘’How could you, Charles? How could you do something like that when Lorenzo is right there and we don’t know if he’s going to live? How can you be so stupid, so irresponsible, so….egotistic? I should punch you in the head, because maybe it’ll wake you the fuck up from whatever fever dream you’re currently living in!’’ Pierre seemed really, really angry with him, and so Charles did the only thing that he felt like he could do. He walked to his friend and hugged him as tight as he possibly could.

It took a few seconds, but Charles could finally feel Pierre’s arms around him, as the man took a deep breath. ‘’I was so worried about you. I was so worried about Lorenzo. I’m so angry, Charles. I should’ve been with you guys to protect you. I could’ve saved Lorenzo from getting hurt, from maybe...’’ He started to rant, but Charles quickly stopped him. ‘’Shut up. Shut up, Pierre.’’ He told his friend as he held him tight. ‘’Lorenzo is alive. That is all that matters. We can’t change what happened, we can only move on and do what we can to make things better and pray to the Gods that he’ll continue to stay with us.’’

Pierre took a deep breath then and pulled away to look at Charles’ face. ‘’Have you seen him? They wouldn’t let me in, told me he was resting and couldn’t be allowed any visitors.’’ He asked his friend, still feeling very worried. ‘’Yes, I have.’’ Charles replied with a small smile. ‘’He’s…he’s not well, but I’m hoping that he’ll make it through. They told me that there’s a good chance that he will if he survives the night.’’ He added, much to Pierre’s very obvious relief. ‘’Oh thank god.’’ The man replied, before he just sank down onto the bed, throwing his head back for a moment as he contemplated everything.

It was silent for a minute between them, before Pierre finally spoke up again. ‘’I just don’t understand. We don’t have bandit gangs this large in the entire region. How could they find the men for an attack like this? And why? It’s much more profitable to attack a merchant train than a Royal procession. And a lot less dangerous if you’re a bandit.’’ He sighed deeply then, before he looked back at Charles. ‘’I’ll get to the bottom of it. I swear.’’ He assured his friend, before he looked Charles up and down again, his gaze stopping at the Prince’s messed up hair as he was reminded again of his best friend’s escapades with his bodyguard.

‘’So…what I’m still trying to understand is…when did you get with Max? Was it just spontaneous just now? Because you weren’t even close to making a move on him when you left this morning, you told me as such.’’ Pierre noted with a bit of a frown. His mind was settled regarding Lorenzo and the attack, at least for the moment, and so the next point of interest on the agenda was the matter of finding Charles ready to have sex with his bodyguard out of nowhere.

Charles started looking down as soon as Pierre mentioned Max, and was a little afraid to look his friend in the eye again, especially after he’d already been so angry before. And even then he just thought that Charles had just gotten together with Max. It terrified him to think how furious Pierre would be once he was told the truth. It had to be done though. Charles owed him that. He owed him way more than that, but he had to start somewhere. He finally sighed deeply and sat down on the bed next to Pierre, taking his hand for a moment. ‘’Will you please try not to hate me?’’

Pierre snorted a little in response and gave Charles a little smile. ‘’Trust me, that’s what I am continuously doing each and every day. But I love you too much to hate you, so I think I can handle whatever it is that you’re about to tell me.’’ He said, looking a little amused at his best friend, before raising an eyebrow as he waited for the Prince to finally start talking. Charles bit his lip then, but Pierre’s words did help him to find enough courage to finally start talking.

‘’So…I haven’t really been entirely truthful with you. I…Max and I…we first got together the day of the tournament, after I went to bed after spending the evening with you. And I really wanted to tell you, you know that I did, but…I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.’’ Charles finally said. When it stayed quiet for a very long time, he finally turned his gaze to look at Pierre, only to find his best friend staring back blankly at him.

Pierre let go of Charles’ hand then, wiping his own off on his shirt as he started to look angrier by the second. ‘’So you lied to me…’’ He said quietly, after a silence that seemed to last a lifetime. ‘’You lied to me.’’ He repeated with a huff, like Pierre himself couldn’t quite believe it. ‘’You have never lied to me, Charles. Not once. Not once in your entire life have you kept the truth from me, have you kept secrets from me. And now…for this…for this stranger?’’ The way that Pierre said the word ‘stranger’, with so much venom and disgust, it made Charles wince.

‘’I’m sorry…’’ He offered quietly in response. ‘’I…I didn’t want to lie to you. I don’t want to lie to you. Not ever. About anything. You’re my best friend in the whole world Pierre, but…I…I couldn’t.’’ Charles said again. He wanted to explain, wanted to tell Pierre everything, but that still wasn’t possible. Max’s story was his own, and it wasn’t Charles place to tell anyone. 

Pierre shook his head on his friend, staring at the wall for a minute before he looked back at his best friend. “You barely know him, Charles. Meanwhile I...I have always been there for you. Through everything. I have spent more of the last ten years by your side than I have at my own home because I love you and I knew that you needed me. And now you...you just lie to me? Am I really worth that little to you? Am I really a person that you keep secrets from now? That is pushed aside because you have a crush on a man who comes from a family of traitors to the Crown?” Pierre almost looked desperate at this point, like he was begging Charles to tell him that this was all a very back joke.

Charles’ bottom lip started to tremble a little at the hurt that showed in Pierre’s words. How betrayed that the man felt by the young Prince. ‘’No…’’ He said quietly. ‘’Pierre, you…you mean everything to me. You are the most important person in my life. I wouldn’t have been able to get through the past ten years without you there always by my side through thick and thin.’’ He looked like he was about to cry, all of the emotions of the day way too overwhelming for anyone to bear, but Pierre did not give in.

He just shook his head and got up from the bed, looking down at Charles. ‘’I have never lied to you, Charles. Not once. Never. And you sat there, lying to my face when I asked you about what happened. You told me that you had sex with Paulo, Lorenzo could’ve had the poor boy killed for defiling a Prince like that!’’ He shook his head then. ‘’Somehow, I think I knew to some extent that you were lying to me. I didn’t want to believe it, I never could believe it, but I knew. Subconsciously. That’s why I reacted like that when I saw you two together in that room. You can’t keep secrets from someone who knows you as well as I do, Charles.’’

Charles swallowed thickly then, quickly wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye as he looked up at Pierre. ‘’I’m sorry, Pierre.’’ He said for what felt like the thousandth time. ‘’I am so sorry. I promise that it will never happen again.’’ Pierre huffed and shook his head. ‘’No.’’ He said, pacing around the room for a moment before he stopped in front of Charles again. ‘’I…I don’t think that I can trust you anymore. At least not for a while. I honestly don’t even know who you are anymore. And…until you are yourself again and stop letting that…man of yours come between you and your best friend, I don’t think that I can be around you.’’ 

With that, Pierre walked to the door and as he gripped the handle, looked back at his best friend a final time. ‘’Goodbye, Charles.’’ He told him, before he left and closed the door again behind himself, leaving Charles all alone in the cold room. As the door fell shut, Charles started to cry again. He may not have lost Lorenzo that night, but Pierre was his brother in all but blood. And Charles had lost him, all through his own actions and stupidity.


	12. Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter of the year! Let's end 2020 with a bang! 
> 
> Love you all, thank you so much for sticking with me through my journey as a writer this year. <3
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

After Pierre had left him, Charles cried until he had no more tears left in him. He felt so worn, so tired, so broken. He genuinely didn’t know what to do. Pierre was right, of course. Charles had never lied to him before, about anything. Max was his very first boyfriend, and he was already lying to his best friend about it before the relationship had good and well started. It wasn’t like him. He told Pierre anything and everything. The man knew his deepest desires and fears, he knew more about him than even his own family did.

On the other hand, Charles still felt like he had made the right decision. Pierre hadn’t read Max’s letter. He didn’t know the kind of hardships that the man had gone through in the last couple of years. He didn’t know the deep pain in his heart, and the fear that that pain would return if anyone were to find out about him and Charles. Now, he would have to tell his boyfriend. He would have to tell Max that Pierre knew, and Charles was terrified that he was going to lose both men in one fell swoop, all because of his own stupidity.

‘’I am so stupid.’’ He croaked, his voice sounding parched and broken after crying for so long. He sniffled a final time, before he got up, wiping the tear stains from his cheeks and finding a mirror to look somewhat presentable before he made his way back outside. The door was guarded of course, but Charles ignored the men as he walked straight towards the room he had left Max in. The same guards were still stationed there, and one of them used his arm to block Charles as he reached for the door handle. ‘’Your Highness, may I remind you that you ordered that nobody enter the Knight Commander’s room?’’ 

Charles blinked a few times before he was actually able to process what exactly was happening right now. When he did, he gave the guard the deadliest glare he had probably given anyone in his entire life. ‘’Get that hand out of my sight if you prefer it attached to your body.’’ He finally spat through gritted teeth, before he reached for the door and walked into the room, slamming the door closed behind himself.

It had been a really, really long time since Charles and Pierre had left, and given the exhaustion of the entire day, Max had fallen asleep in the warm, comfortable bed. When Charles walked in though and slammed the door with enough strength to nearly break it, the Northerner startled awake and pretty much jumped out of bed, looking around with wide eyes. His gaze finally settled on Charles, and Max could instantly see the state that his boyfriend was in. ‘’Charles…?’’ He asked quietly, before he on instinct walked over and wrapped his arms tightly around the young Prince, holding him as Charles immediately nuzzled against his shoulder.

‘’What happened, Charles?’’ Max asked as he started to gently rub the Prince’s back. ‘’Did you fight with Pierre? Did something happen to Lorenzo?’’ He asked his boyfriend, sitting down with him on the bed again, taking Charles onto his lap. The Prince stayed quiet for a long time, soaking up all the comfort that Max could give him, before he finally sighed deeply. ‘’I fought with Pierre…’’ He said quietly. He bit down on his lip as he curled himself up in Max’s arms and took a few shaky breaths. ‘’Please don’t hate me too, Maxy. I’ve lost Pierre. I’ve almost lost Lorenzo. I can’t lose you too. Please…’’ He said quietly.

Max pulled away a little from his boyfriend so he could actually meet Charles’ eyes and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. ‘’I won’t hate you, love. And I promise that you won’t lose me.’’ He said quietly. ‘’Did you tell Pierre about us?’’ He asked with a gentle hum. He pushed Charles’ hair away from his forehead, smiling a little as he saw the Prince’s eyes widening and looking at Max with a surprised look. ‘’Pierre saw us in bed and you fought with him. I really can’t imagine you fighting with Pierre about anything other than us.’’ Max sighed deeply then, shaking his head a little.

‘’You know that I didn’t want to tell anyone to protect you. To protect myself. And I will make sure to talk to Pierre about all this, because it has to remain a secret. But you trust him, right?’’ Max asked quietly. Charles immediately nodded. ‘’Pierre won’t tell anyone.’’ He said, almost whispering the words to his boyfriend. Max then nodded softly and gave Charles a soft kiss. ‘’I don’t hate you for telling him, Charles. You kept our secret from your best friend because I asked, and you only told him because you didn’t have a choice. If anything I only think more highly of you now.’’

Charles didn’t respond to Max, he only nuzzled his face back into his boyfriend’s bare shoulder, a small smile on his lips as he pressed a kiss to the skin. ‘’Thank you.’’ He said quietly. ‘’Of course, gorgeous.’’ Max whispered in return, kissing the top of Charles’ head as he held him. ‘’Do you want to talk about your fight with Pierre?’’ He offered, ready to do whatever the young Prince needed from him in the moment. Charles shook his head then. ‘’I’m tired.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I’m so tired, Maxy. I just want to sleep.’’ He admitted to the man. 

Charles slowly got off of Max’s lap then, undressing himself as he watched the Northerner get back into his previous spot and open his arms for Charles to get into. The Prince did crawl into them once he got into bed, and let out a pleased sigh at the warmth of both the bed and his boyfriend. He eyes started to almost immediately fall closed, and he could just manage a kiss goodnight. ‘’Goodnight, Maxy. Love you.’’ He mumbled as he drifted away, missing the wide eyes of shock that Max looked down at him with after using those words.

Charles awoke the next morning to soft, gentle kisses in his neck. He giggled at the sensation and sighed happily, before he started to stretch out his limbs. He cuddled back to Max’s embrace after that, smiling to himself as he blinked sleepily. ‘’Morning, gorgeous.’’ Max said quietly, as he gently let his fingers run over Charles’ hip. ‘’Hi.’’ The Prince mumbled in return. Charles felt happy. He felt nice and content in Max’s arms, completely relaxed. That was, until his mind finally flipped a switch and all the memories from the day before came flooding back in.

The young Prince let out a small whimper then, turning around in Max’s arms and nuzzling into his chest again as he was held. ‘’Did you hear anything yet? About Lorenzo?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’No.’’ Max said quietly. ‘’And I imagine that’s good news. They would’ve come and told you if his situation had gotten any worse.’’ He assured Charles. ‘’But the sun has been up for a while, and though you looked like you really needed your sleep, I imagine you would’ve also been angry with me if I had let you sleep until noon.’’

Max smiled lovingly down at Charles as he played with the Prince’s hair, and Charles nodded softly. ‘’I would have.’’ He agreed with a soft smile, pressing another kiss to Max’s skin before he slowly, reluctantly, pulled away from his boyfriend. ‘’I need to go and see him.’’ He told the man, before his gaze fell on Max’s bandage again. ‘’How’s your shoulder?’’ He asked with a bit of a frown, making Max chuckle. ‘’I’ll survive, Charles. Don’t worry about me. Go and get dressed and we’ll go see your brother.’’

Max got out of bed as he finished speaking and started getting dressed, although it proved a little bit of a hassle to get into his armour with his shoulder still hurting. Thankfully for him, Charles noticed, and after the Prince had gotten his own clothes on, he quickly went to help his boyfriend with his, giving him a kiss after. ‘’Ask for help when you need it, Maxy. I won’t judge.’’ He said quietly, before he went to inspect himself in a mirror.

Charles ended up needing a little more time to get himself to look the way that he wanted, before they finally left the bedchamber. He completely ignored his guards again and marched straight over to Lorenzo’s rooms, where he glared at the Kingsguard that threatened to say something, and walked right in to see his brother. Max walked in after Charles, and nearly bumped into the young Prince when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and just stared ahead. 

Pierre was seated at Lorenzo’s side, only stopping their conversation once he saw Charles walking into the room. Lorenzo frowned at the sudden change of atmosphere as Pierre and Charles looked at each other, and the King looked between the two friends a few times, but did not speak up. It was Pierre who got up then, and, given that the door was open, was very formal as he bowed to Lorenzo. ‘’I will leave you to talk with your brother, Your Majesty.’’ He told Lorenzo, before he walked past Charles and left the room without so much as looking in his direction, he only glared at Max as he passed by.

Lorenzo gave Charles an inquiring look then, and Max quickly cleared his throat. ‘’I’ll…leave you to it.’’ He said, giving Charles’ hand a stealthy squeeze for reassurance, before he too bowed. ‘’Your Majesty, Your Highness.’’ He said, before he left the room and closed the door behind himself. ‘’Well…’’ Lorenzo started, wincing a little when he tried to sit up a little straighter. ‘’Good morning to you too, little brother.’’

Charles was quick to rush over to Lorenzo’s side and sat down in the chair Pierre had previously occupied. ‘’Hi…’’ He said quietly. ‘’Are you…How do you feel?’’ He asked, still looking incredibly worried. ‘’Well, according to the medics, as long as we keep the wounds clean and they don’t get infected, I should make a recovery. In time.’’ Lorenzo said with a small smile on his face. ‘’So you can stop worrying so much about me, Charles.’’ He teased the Prince.

Charles started to laugh a little in return, before he reached over to hug his brother as gently as he possibly could. ‘’Thank you for fighting.’’ He said quietly, and he was pretty sure he could feel Lorenzo smile as the King hugged him back. ‘’Always, little brother. You can’t get rid of me that easily.’’ He told him, before Charles pulled back and sat down again. ‘’Now what is going on between you and Pierre and Max?’’ Lorenzo asked, and the façade that Charles had very much planned on keeping up almost immediately crumbled and faded away. 

He still felt awful, and the one person that he would’ve talked to in the past ten years wasn’t there anymore. He couldn’t lie to Lorenzo, not when he needed his brother’s advice more than ever. ‘’I had a fight with Pierre and I think I’ve lost him…’’ He said quietly, looking down at his hands for a moment. ‘’Because I lied to him…and you.’’ He admitted then to his brother. He could almost hear Lorenzo frowning at him, and the surprised hum told him that his brother wasn’t very amused. ‘’That’s…very unlike you, Charles. What did you lie about?’’

Charles swallowed thickly then, and decided that he really did need to tell Lorenzo the truth, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he didn’t. ‘’I didn’t sleep with Paulo…’’ He told the King quietly, unable to really speak up any louder because he just felt so bad about everything. ‘’The night after the tournament, I…I got together with Max…’’ He told his brother. ‘’We are…we are close. Very close. I…I think that I might love him…’’

It stayed quiet for a moment, but Lorenzo finally did speak up. ‘’I see…’’ He said, still looking a little confused. ‘’But why did you lie about it, little brother? Yes, Max is the son of a great Lord, but that doesn’t particularly matter to me. And I don’t think it should matter that much to Pierre, either.’’ Charles shook his head in response to his brother and sighed again. ‘’That’s not it…’’ He said quietly. ‘’There are…reasons for why we didn’t want to tell anyone. Why we kept it a secret. Why it must remain a secret.’’ Charles looked Lorenzo in the eyes during the last of those sentences, and his brother nodded softly. ‘’Of course.’’ He agreed instantly.

‘’And your fight with Pierre was because he doesn’t approve of Max?’’ Lorenzo inquired, and Charles had to sigh again. ‘’I…no, I don’t think so. We fought because I lied to him. I’ve never lied to him before, and I think that he felt betrayed. Like I don’t trust him anymore. Which I do. I trust him with my life, it’s just…Max has his reasons for keeping it secret and it’s not my place to tell anyone…’’ Charles swallowed thickly then. ‘’But Pierre doesn’t approve. He says that Max has changed me, that I’m different now. Do you think so?’’

Lorenzo frowned a little, less in disapproval then and more in thought. ‘’But you know the reason why Max is insisting on keeping all of this a secret and agree with it?’’ He asked Charles, who nodded. ‘’I do.’’ He said quietly. ‘’And you are only keeping this reason a secret to protect the man that you love?’’ He asked, to which Charles nodded again. ‘’Then I don’t think you have changed, Charles.’’ 

Lorenzo reached out then, gently taking Charles’ hand and squeezing it softly. ‘’I don’t think that Pierre really meant what he said. He’s just lashing out, angry because he feels like you didn’t trust him enough to tell the truth. You were put in an impossible position, to choose between your love and your best friend. Someone was going to get hurt, but I think that you chose right.’’ He waited for Charles to look him in the eye then and gave him a reassuring smile, before he continued. ‘’I know Pierre. He loves you like you’re his own blood. Yes, he’s angry now, but he will come back to you, and you two will figure this out. It might take some time, but I am sure that he will forgive you.’’

Charles nodded softly. ‘’Thank you.’’ He said quietly. ‘’It was so awful, Lorenzo. I really felt like I’d lost him. He was so angry with me. He told me he couldn’t trust me anymore. That he couldn’t be around me anymore until I’d stop letting Max change me…’’ Lorenzo sighed deeply then. ‘’I think Pierre might also be having some trouble with the notion that he might not be the most important person in your life anymore. That he’ll come second from now on. Do you really think that there would be any guy that he would deem worthy of you? Because I know for sure that he wouldn’t.’’ Charles had to chuckle a little at that and smiled at his brother. 

‘’Thank you, Lolo. You always know how to make me feel better.’’ Lorenzo chuckled a little himself at the nickname and relaxed a little on the bed. ‘’Well then, how about you tell me a little more about your new boyfriend then?’’ He suggested. 

***

As soon as Max had left the room so that Lorenzo and Charles could talk in peace, he had decided he wanted to talk to Pierre and try and fix things for his boyfriend. ‘’Pierre!’’ He called after the man, but he just kept on walking. With a bit of a frown, Max followed him downstairs, and outside, where the man walked towards the stables at a brisk pace.

Max had to go into a run to catch up, and finally reached him at the stables itself. There didn’t seem to be anyone around yet, which was good for the kind of talk that they needed to have. ‘’Pierre, we need to t-‘’ Max said as he reached out and put hand on the man’s shoulder. As he did, Pierre turned around and pushed Max towards the stone wall as hard as he possibly could. Max impacted against the bricks with his hurt shoulder, and he could feel the wound reopening as he groaned in pain.

‘’Pierre, what the fuck…’’ Max grumbled as he put a hand on his shoulder. His vision went blurry for a moment, but he finally managed to focus on Pierre again, as the man stood in front of him, absolutely fuming. ‘’You made Charles lie to me. You have no idea who he is, what he has been through, how he has suffered in his life. I know him. I know everything about him. I have been there through the highs and the lows and I refuse to let whatever you’re planning work. Are you doing this on orders from your father? Try to figure out the Crown Prince’s weaknesses?’’

Max was about to answer, but before he could, Pierre’s fist came flying again, and he punched Max hard in the stomach. All the air escaped Max’s lungs, and for a moment he felt like he was going to throw up and he folded over in pain. ‘’If you ever. EVER. hurt him, or cause him any pain, I will end you. Charles means everything to me. He is my brother and I will do whatever it takes to protect him.’’

With that, Pierre turned around and went to his horse, mounting it and letting it walk back to Max. ‘’I’m going to find out what happened with that attack yesterday, and if I find out that you have anything to do with it, no hiding place in the entirety of Astral will keep you safe from me.’’ He turned to ride off then, but Max managed to find the air to speak. ‘’W-wait…’’ He called, and Pierre looked back for a moment. ‘’You can’t tell anyone, Pierre. Please…’’ 

Pierre took a deep breath then, staring down at Max for a moment, before he answered. ‘’I won’t. For Charles’ sake.’’ And with that, he was gone. Max watched him ride off for a moment, before he sank down to the ground. He felt dizzy, nauseous, and he could see from the corner of his eye that the red spot on his shoulder was growing by the second.


	13. And Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New year, new chapter, new PLOT.
> 
> I'm so excited to continue this. The one shots were fun, but I love this fic so much. And you all <3
> 
> Let me know what you think of everything that's happening and don't be shy to leave a comment, nothing makes me happier than to read them

Charles was giggling a little as he sat with Lorenzo, talking about the good old times and Lorenzo insisting on reminding Charles of all the embarrassing things he had done as a small child that he didn’t really remember doing anymore until his brother kindly telling him. They were just having a really nice time together despite the circumstances. That was, until Paulo suddenly stormed into the room, and Charles was just so incredibly done with guards ruining everything for the past couple of days. ‘’Paulo, I swear to the Gods, if this isn’t important and you’ve disturbed a meeting between the Crown Prince and the King for no good reason th-‘’

‘’It’s Lord Verstappen, Your Highness. I mean Max. I mean the Knight Commander.’’ Paulo was struggling a little with his words then, given the entire situation and the fact that it was pretty serious when you were threatened like that by the Crown Prince. ‘’He’s been hurt and I thought you’d like to know.’’

Charles’ expression shifted then from one of anger to one of worry and he quickly got up. ‘’I’ll be back.’’ He told Lorenzo, and the King nodded. ‘’Of course. Let me know whether he’s alright, Charles.’’ He told his brother, before Charles followed Paulo out of the room. He was taken back to the room that he’d spent the night in with Max and saw his boyfriend in bed, currently trying to fight off a medic who insisted on redoing the stitches of the wound on his shoulder. ‘’I’m FINE.’’ He insisted for what sounded like definitely not the first time, and Charles raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

‘’You don’t look fine.’’ Charles noted, and Max’s gaze shot towards the door, where he took Charles in for a moment, before realizing that he had to behave. ‘’Your Highness.’’ He greeted with a bow of his head, given that he couldn’t really move anything more than that. ‘’My apologies. My wound just started to bleed a little again so I sat down outside to rest and everyone just started to go completely crazy after that.’’

Charles sighed deeply at Max’s words, shaking his head for a moment before he glanced at the medic. ‘’Redo his stitches, please. I want him in top shape again as soon as possible.’’ He told the man, before he glared back at Max. ‘’You don’t get to move.’’ He ordered, earning himself incredulous look from Max. ‘’But I have to…’’ The Northerner started, before Charles cut him off. ‘’You. Don’t. Get. To. Move.’’ He said through gritted teeth, leaving absolutely no room for arguing whatsoever. ‘’Am I clear enough for you?’’ He demanded.

He watched as Max stared back at him, looking hungry for him more than he looked intimidated by his tone. ‘’Crystal clear, Your Highness.’’ He replied, staying silent after that as the medic went back to work on Max’s shoulder.

‘’Your Highness, might I speak to you privately for a moment?’’ Paulo asked then, and Charles turned around to face the knight with a bit of a frown. ‘’Is it urgent…?’’ He asked, and Paulo hesitated for a moment, before nodding. ‘’It is, Your Highness, forgive me.’’

With a sigh, Charles nodded and followed Paulo again, going into the room that he had used to talk with Pierre the day before. He only hoped that this talk would be better, although Charles could hardly imagine it going any worse. He closed the door behind himself once they’d gone in and crossed his arms as he looked at the Crownsguard. ‘’Yes Paulo, what is it?’’ He demanded then, the knight in question looking a little uncomfortable.

‘’Your Highness, please forgive me for what I’m about to say…’’ He started, and Charles frowned. ‘’I can’t forgive you if I don’t know what it is, Paulo. Out with it.’’ He demanded, and the knight cleared his throat then. ‘’I…I think Knight Commander Verstappen is omitting some of the facts of what exactly transpired outside…’’ He told the Prince, whose frown only deepened. ‘’Are you saying that Max is lying to his Prince?’’ He asked Paulo for good measure, and the knight seemed to be taken aback again for a moment, before nodding. ‘’I’m sad to say that I am saying that, Your Highness.’’

Charles huffed at the answer. Max wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t lie to him. Not after the entire mess they’d gone through the night before. ‘’Well, what’s your proof? What exactly happened outside that he isn’t telling me?’’ Paulo swallowed thickly then, obviously finding his courage before he answered. Max was his direct superior after all.

‘’I personally saw what happened, Your Highness. I was heading out to take care of your horse when I saw the Knight Commander following Lord Gasly to the stables. They…fought. Or well, Lord Gasly shoved the Knight Commander into the wall and punched him in the stomach after, before he rode off. After he did, the Knight Commander collapsed, and he seemed almost unconscious for a moment as I went over to help him up. I…I didn’t hear exactly what they were saying when they fought, but if the Knight Commander is saying that this happened on his own then he is lying to you…Your Highness.’’ Paulo finally told Charles.

The Prince looked away from Paulo for a moment as his mind raced. Max and Pierre fought? It really could really only be about one thing…about him. Charles eyes started to dart a little then, and when his breathing started to pick up significantly, Paulo saw that Charles starting to panic. He reached out, putting his hands on Charles’ shoulder and trying to meet the Prince’s eyes. ‘’Your Highness, are you alright?’’ He asked the man, who then took a deep shaky breath as he steadied himself. ‘’I…yes…I…I’m just surprised that Lord Verstappen would lie to me is all…’’ He told Paulo with a weak smile. 

‘’I…I will go and speak with him. I would like you to stand guard so that I can be absolutely sure that no one will disturb us. Can you do that?’’ Charles asked the knight, who quickly stood up straight again and bowed. ‘’It would be my honour, Your Highness.’’ He assured the Prince, who nodded softly.

They left the room again after that, with Charles marching straight back to the other room to go and speak with Max. The medic had left by then, and once Charles had closed the door behind himself, he was alone with his boyfriend. He quickly rushed over to the man’s side, sitting down on the free side of the bed with a worried look on his face again. ‘’Oh, Maxy.’’ He said, placing a kiss on the man’s shoulder, before leaning over to kiss him on the lips.

‘’What happened? Tell me.’’ Charles insisted, and Max sighed softly as he used the hand from his healthy side to gently take Charles’ in his own. ‘’Nothing happened, Charles. Honestly. Like I said, I probably just overexerted a little and the thing started to bleed, that’s all. It’s absolutely nothing to worry about.’’ He gave Charles a reassuring smile and leaned over to give the man a sweet kiss. ‘’How was your talk with your brother, good I hope?’’ He asked quietly.

Max pulled away from the kiss with a smile, but it faded as he saw the glare that Charles was sending him in return. ‘’W-what…?’’ The Northerner asked quietly, and Charles stayed quiet for a moment before he answered. ‘’Don’t lie to me.’’ He told Max, his voice sounding calm and collected, and really that only made it that much more frightening. ‘’This whole mess started with the fact that I lied to Pierre, so I will not have you lying to me. Or is he right? Are you really changing me? Are you making me into someone who hides the truth from his friends and family?’’

‘’I…’’ Max started, unable to really come up with anything to say. ‘’Someone saw you outside, Max. You fought with Pierre or better yet Pierre fought with you and then you were apparently so out of it that Paulo had to come and save you. How do you think it’s in any way appropriate to hide that from me? How do you think it’s okay not to tell me that you fought with my best friend? That he hit you? That he injured you? Tell me.’’

Charles was still refusing to raise his voice in the slightest, and Max didn’t like it at all. This was the in-control, confident Prince Charles that talked to his guards this way, not the sweet boy that he usually was when they were together. If Charles was treating him like this, he had to be really mad. Max swallowed thickly then, deciding that it would probably be best if he tried to defuse the situation a little. ‘’You…You’re really hot when you’re angry…’’

Charles blinked a couple of times then, trying to make sure that he had heard Max right before he answered anything. ‘’Are…Are you serious right now?’’ He asked, and the slight blush that appeared on his cheeks told Max that he had his boyfriend exactly where he wanted him. ‘’Yeah.’’ He said quietly, lacing his fingers together with Charles and bringing them up to his mouth so he could place a kiss on the back of the Prince’s hand. ‘’Love it when you get like that. Gets me all hot and bothered.’’ He told Charles with a wink.

The Prince only started blushing deeper then, biting on his lip for a moment before he just nuzzled his face into his boyfriend’s bare chest for a moment. ‘’Maxy…’’ He whined. ‘’Please don’t lie to me…ever. I’ve read your letter, there can’t be anything else big to lie about, right?’’ He asked quietly. Max sighed as he looked down at Charles and very gently played with the man’s hair as they cuddled together. ‘’There isn’t.’’ He assured his boyfriend. 

‘’I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away, Charles.’’ Max said quietly. Charles turned his head then, looking up at Max with a bit of a pout on his face. ‘’Why didn’t you though?’’ He asked quietly, making the Northerner sigh deeply again. ‘’I dunno…a couple of reasons. Because I was ashamed that Pierre beat me like that. Because you were already so worried again about your brother and I didn’t want you to worry too much about me, too. Because I know how much Pierre means to you, and I didn’t want you to hold it against him that he beat me up even though I’m personally starting to think that he might be a bit of a dick.’’

Charles hummed softly at Max’s words and leaned up to kiss him again. ‘’You’re an idiot.’’ He said quietly, and Max couldn’t help but huff a little. ‘’Gee, thanks babe.’’ He told Charles, who rolled his eyes. ‘’But you’re my idiot.’’ He added with a smile. ‘’But seriously. I will decide what to worry about and what to think about people, thank you very much. I don’t need my boyfriend to decide that for me.’’ He cleared his throat then and put on his serious face again. ‘’Do I make myself clear, Maxy?’’ He demanded.

The shift in tone made Max groan a little, and he bit his lip as his eyes shifted towards the door. ‘’Charles, are we going to be alone?’’ He asked the Prince, who raised an eyebrow before we nodded. ‘’Yes…why?’’ Charles asked curiously. He could see Max’s gaze darkening a little, and somehow he immediately figured out what the man was hinting towards. ‘’Oh…you’d like to finish what we started last night. Well count me in.’’ He said with a smirk, as he kissed Max deeply again.

***

They remained at the inn for just over another week after that, before Lorenzo was finally well enough to travel in a carriage that was specially modified to move him in. He had told Charles multiples times before that to head home already, but the Prince vehemently refused to leave his brother behind in his condition. Besides, Max had to heal as well, and a week was more than enough time for that.

The journey back home took a few more days than it normally would, given that they had to travel a little slower so that Lorenzo would be able to lie comfortably, but given the enormous regiment of mounted soldiers they had with them for the remainder of the way home, they didn’t run into any more trouble. Both Arthur and Pascale were overjoyed to finally have the both of them back safely again, and they wouldn’t let either of them out of their sights for at least a couple of days.

Soon enough though, Lorenzo was able to walk again, and he summoned Charles to his office so they could talk. When Charles inquired as to exactly what the meeting was about, all the Kingsguard could tell him was that it was ‘regarding important matters as His Highness’ position as the Crown Prince’. Charles went along quickly enough, smiling as he walked into Lorenzo’s office and bowed. ‘’Your Majesty.’’

‘’Charles.’’ Lorenzo said, a bright smile on his face as he gestured for his brother to sit. He was still very much injured, and he had to walk with a cane, but Lorenzo was still with them, and that was the most important thing in the entire world. ‘’What did you want to see me about?’’ Charles asked curiously then, and Lorenzo had to sigh for a moment.

‘’I wanted to talk to you about your position as Crown Prince. Do you remember our talk when we thought that I was.…Anyway, like I said back then, there are certain duties that a Crown Prince has to fulfil. And I shielded you of those, because I thought that they were too dangerous. I see now that I was wrong. You are strong, you are capable, and I shouldn’t protect you like that anymore, you can take care of yourself.’’ Lorenzo said as he smiled proudly at his little brother.

‘’Charles, what do you know of Nydhass?’’ Lorenzo asked curiously, making Charles frown a little. ‘’You mean our ancestor’s dragon? The one that we have the gigantic statue of in the front courtyard?’’ He asked, and Lorenzo chuckled a little in return. ‘’Yes, that one. Do you know that that dragon was in fact a ‘she’?’’ He continued, and Charles only frowned deeper. ‘’No…but why is that important?’’ He asked, not really understanding where exactly Lorenzo seemed to be going with this.

‘’Well as you might know, the dragon’s rider was Queen Alpaida, who didn’t hail from this land, but from one far to the East, beyond our shores. When she arrived here, all those years ago, she didn’t just bring Nydhass with her. She also brought her mate. He died in battle early on, and since we wanted to keep up the legend of dragons as unkillable creatures, he was removed from all records. This story is only passed down from King to heir.’’ Lorenzo paused for a moment then, before he finally got to the point.

‘’What I’m trying to say Charles, is that before Nydhass’ mate died, they mated, and she laid eggs. We currently have three dragon eggs in a special vault, deep withing the catacombs of the palace. The legend says that a dragon will only hatch for one who it is destined for, and so when a Crown Prince comes of age, the King will take him down to the catacombs to see whether one of the eggs hatches for him. And now, it is your turn.’’

When Lorenzo finally finished speaking, Charles looked at him with a disbelieving look. ‘’Are you saying that there are parts of this palace that I don’t know about? Where we keep dragon eggs? And one of those eggs might actually hatch for me? And then I’ll have a dragon?’’ He asked of his brother, who chuckled a little again. ‘’Yes, yes, and it is extremely unlikely. Charles, none of the eggs have hatched in over five centuries. It’s more of a formality than anything, but given that it always could happen…I just didn’t want to risk it before.’’

Charles only frowned deeper as he looked at his brother. ‘’Well…Can we just go now? If I get a dragon I want it now, and if I don’t, then I don’t want to hype myself up over it too much…’’ He told Lorenzo, who laughed and with great effort, managed to lift himself up from his chair. ‘’Alright, little brother. Let’s go and see if we can get you a dragon.’’

Lorenzo walked Charles through what felt like the entirety of the palace, until they finally came upon an obscure looking door in a hallway behind the throne room. Lorenzo opened it with an intricate looking key he had in his pocket, before they started to slowly make their way downstairs. This genuinely was a part of the palace that Charles had never been before, and he asked himself why he had never wondered about that door before. 

They walked through long, winding hallways, which took a long time given Lorenzo’s current predicament, before they finally saw daylight in the distance, and Charles could hear the calls of seagulls. They found themselves on an outcropping in the cliffs underneath the palace, and around the corner there were two guards, dressed in heavy armour coloured in a deep black. They both bowed, and offered a ‘’Your Majesty, Your Highness.’’ In almost perfect unison.

They were guarding a metal barred door, and Charles could hear some noise behind it as someone apparently approached from the darkness. A young man appeared, about Charles’ age, dressed in the same black colour, although he wore leathers, rather than heavy armour. He had light brown hair, short, but not too short, and unmistakable good looks that meant Charles instantly recognized the man. ‘’George…?’’ He asked, not really believing his own eyes.

Charles had known George since childhood, he was a frequent playmate of his. He knew his family worked in the palace somewhere and the boy had sort of disappeared out of his life one day, but it was just after the death of his father and Charles had not been in the state of mind to really question it. 

Nonetheless, the man in question seemed very excited to see him. ‘’Charles!’’ He called out excitedly, and he quickly opened the metal gate to let both his old friend and the King in. ‘’Have you finally decided to let him have his shot then?’’ He asked Lorenzo with a chuckle, and the King hummed in return. ‘’Good to see you too, George.’’ He told the man, before he nodded. ‘’Yes, it’s time. Have you kept the eggs safe?’’ He asked curiously. 

George nodded, standing proudly as he walked further inside the room, where the temperature seemed to rise with every step. There, lying on extremely expensive looking pillows, laid three eggs the size of Charles’ head. One red, one green, and one blue, all covered in what looked like scales of their respective colour. 

‘’George’s family came along with Queen Alpaida from her homeland.’’ Lorenzo explained to Charles as they looked at the eggs. ‘’His family has always looked after Nydhass when she was alive, and they are sworn to care for her children as well.’’

All Charles could do at that moment was nod softly. He was taking in the information, but somehow it wasn’t really landing yet, given that there were three actual dragon eggs in front of him. He laughed a little nervously, looking between his brother and George. ‘’So…what do I do…?’’ He asked curiously. ‘’How does this work?’’

George smiled and stepped in front of Charles, seemingly excited to explain. ‘’You very carefully pick up the eggs one at a time, and cradle them in your arms. If the dragon is going to hatch for you, you will instantly feel a connection with the creature inside. If not, we move on to the next one.’’ Lorenzo gave Charles a reassuring smile then, and nodded. ‘’It’ll be fine, Charles. Nothing to worry about.’’

Charles nodded softly then and chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, before he followed George to the first egg, the blue one. He very gently picked it up, and found that is was almost pleasantly warm to the touch. As Charles cradled it in his arms, he could feel the power coming from inside, but nothing else happened. So he shook his head, and carefully set the egg down again.

The exact same thing happened for the green egg, and then only the red one was left. Charles glanced at Lorenzo as he walked to the last one, and the King almost seemed relieved, apparently having been terrified that his little brother would actually have to care for a dragon.

As George stepped aside, Charles reached out to very gently pick up the egg in his arms. As soon as he touched it though, something happened. A surge of heat spread through his body, starting in the fingertips that touched the egg, and spreading all the way to the top of his head and down into his toes. It was almost too overwhelming, but the feeling almost instantly turned into one of bliss, and Charles could only smile happily. 

At the same time, the egg moved, and an almost deafeningly loud noise echoed through the chamber as a large crack suddenly appeared in the egg. That was the moment that Charles realised what was happening. He had just bonded with this creature, and now it was hatching. He was going to have a dragon.


	14. Scarlet Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so on fire, writing three chapters and two one shots in the space of four days. It's insane.
> 
> A DRAGON. WE HAVE A DRAGON. I. Love. Dragons. Dragons are the best. 
> 
> This one is based on the following art, but a scarlet red version:  
> https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/cpge16/ocart_desert_psuedodragon/
> 
> I'm so excited about what is to come, I hope you all are too!
> 
> Comments are much appreciated, given that each one makes me extremely excited and I need some positivity in this lockdown lifestyle. <3

Charles could hear both George and Lorenzo gasping when the egg suddenly cracked, and he could hear Lorenzo stepping forward, before George stopped him. ‘’No…Let them be, Lorenzo. They need a moment to bond.’’ He told the King. Charles could hear as Lorenzo stepped back then, and the Prince could focus his complete attention back on the egg in front of him. He could see that the creature inside was moving around, and the egg started to show more and more cracks as the little dragon struggled to break free.

That was, until it suddenly went still. Charles immediately worried and started to reach out for the egg, but what happened then made him quickly pull his hand back. The egg suddenly shattered as the little dragon spread its wings with immense strength, leaving it standing on the pillow with just some scattered eggshells around it. As he looked upon the little thing, Charles was immediately in love.

The dragon was a deep, scarlet red. It had tiny scales all over its body, with veins between them that almost seemed to pulsate with raw, unbridled power. Unlike the slim reptile that Charles had envisioned, it was adorable, almost like a little puppy with large, leathery wings that it folded up against on its back. It had large, black eyes that looked right at the young Prince, and it was tilting its head to the side a little as it seemed to be taking him in properly.

It was almost on instinct then that Charles reached out, letting his fingertips run over the dragon’s head and down to it’s back, where he petted it gently. The little thing seemed to enjoy the touch immensely, as it let out a noise at the petting that Charles could really only describe as a purr. He smiled lovingly at the little creature, and even giggled a little as it let out an absolutely gigantic yawn, before looking a little sleepily at Charles.

The young Prince reached out then, very gently taking the dragon in his arms, where it immediately curled up and promptly fell asleep, breathing evenly in the arms of its rider. Charles just watched the little thing for a moment, smiling down at it, before he finally turned around as he realized what had actually just happened. ‘’Uhm…so what now…?’’ He asked quietly, glancing at the two men who still seemed to be in complete shock. 

‘’I…’’ Lorenzo started to say, before George just stepped closer to Charles with the biggest smile on his face. ‘’This is incredible, Charles!’’ He said, almost unable to rein in his own excitement as he looked at the precious little thing in the Prince’s arms. ‘’I can’t believe that it hatched. That we have an actual dragon to take care of now. May I…? I need to do some checks, see if it’s healthy, what sex it is, that sort of thing.’’ He was still smiling brightly, which faded a little as Charles frowned at him in return.

‘’She’s asleep.’’ Charles told George seriously. ‘’I imagine that hatching is a very tiring business, so she needs all the rest that she can get before you go and do all kinds of not nice things to her.’’ He held his dragon a little closer, and the little creature almost seemed to let out a pleased little noise in its sleep when he did, while George just looked confused. ‘’Why are you saying ‘she’ Charles?’’ He asked the Prince.

Charles blinked a few times then, not really having thought about it at all. ‘’I don’t know…’’ He said quietly. ‘’It’s a she…right?’’ He had really just said it without a second thought, had regarded the dragon as a ‘she’ from the moment it had hatched. 

‘’Charles, what happened exactly before it hatched? What’s the bond like?’’ He asked curiously, hoping to gain some new information than that. Charles frowned a little as he thought back on it and searched for the words to try and explain. ‘’It…It was like…I touched the egg, and then spreading from my fingertips, my entire body felt like it was on fire. But for only like an instant. Then I just felt warm, I felt happy, I felt love for this little girl.’’ He told George, before he smiled down at the creature in his arms again.

‘’That’s incredible.’’ George answered instantly. Apparently, the constant talking was a bit of an annoyance to the little dragon, because it opened its eyes again and looked right at George, a little smoke coming from its nostrils as it looked less than amused. The whole thing sent Charles into immediate giggles. He gently petted the little thing again, getting its attention. ‘’Sorry sweetie, but George needs to look at you for a moment. After that we’ll go and sleep as much as you want.’’ He assured it, before George quickly guided them over to a table on the side of the room. 

Charles gently put the little thing down, and although it did seem slightly uncomfortable, it let George do whatever it wanted, as long as Charles was right there for more petting. The man finally finished after a little while, and the little dragon almost immediately climbed onto Charles’ arm, racing up to his shoulder to curl up on there instead as it looked at George from afar. 

George chuckled a little as he watched it happen and smiled at Charles. ‘’It is in fact a she, yes. And from what I’ve read about dragon anatomy and biology and all that, I think that she is in perfect condition. Congratulations Charles, honestly. Do you know what you’re going to name her yet?’’ He asked curiously, and Charles’ eyes suddenly widened. ‘’I have to name her…?’’

George only laughed more then and shook his head. ‘’Of course you do. They don’t come out of the egg with a name already given to them. Take your time, it’s a big responsibility. The main things that you need to know now is that she needs a lot of rest, a lot of food, and a lot of milk. I will send the food and milk up to your chambers, so as long as you can make sure that she sleeps well, you’ll be fine.’’

Charles frowned a little in return at his friend and hummed as he gently scratched underneath his dragon’s chin. ‘’Where does she sleep?’’ He asked George, who smiled again in return. ‘’Your bed, probably. At least for a little while. I don’t think she’s going to want to really be away from you at all for the next couple of days, so you’ll have to make do.’’

‘’Oh…’’ Charles said, before he just started to chuckle. ‘’Well someone is not going to like that very much.’’ He said, suddenly remembering that Max would probably not be that excited about a dragon sharing their bed. He ignored the questioning look he got from George and instead looked at Lorenzo, who hadn’t really said or done anything since the dragon had hatched. ‘’Brother, are you alright?’’ Charles asked then, walking over to the King.

Lorenzo finally just let out a long, deep sigh and shook his head. ‘’I try so hard for so many years to keep you safe, and now the Gods have decided to grant you a dragon. Someone out there is playing a very cruel joke on me indeed.’’ He told Charles, before he chuckled softly. ‘’This is not what I would have chosen for you, Charles. But I meant what I said when I thought I was leaving this world. You are the best of us, and so I know that there is no one better to take care of that little one.’’

Lorenzo nodded at the dragon, and as Charles glanced at her, he saw that she had already fallen asleep again, her place safely secured by digging her claws into the Prince’s extremely expensive tunic. Charles reached out to gently pet her again then, before he nodded. ‘’Thank you.’’ He told both Lorenzo and George. ‘’But if that is all, I think I should go back to my chambers to let her sleep and get to know her a little better when she wakes up.’’

George and Lorenzo both agreed that that would probably be best, and George assured Charles that he would come up later to see if everything was going okay and to answer any questions that Charles would have for him. After that, the Prince and his brother made his way back upstairs, and Charles left his brother be to make his way back upstairs to his chambers. 

Given their encounter on the road and the fact that both the Prince and the King were almost killed, nobody had really paid it any mind when Max had moved into the room next to Charles’ as soon as they returned from their journey, given that he was the Knight Commander of the Prince’s guard. It was originally just a guest room, but it wasn’t like Max was planning on doing anything in there other than use it as an office for work related matters. They had since then even made a door directly between their rooms, with the cover story that Max wanted to always be on standby to protect his Prince if needed. In reality, he just snuck in every evening and out every morning to make out with Charles and sleep with the Prince in his arms.  
When Charles finally reached his chambers, the first person he ran into was Paulo, who was currently standing guard at his door. ‘’Your Highness.’’ He greeted, moving to bow to Charles before his eyes settled on the creature on his shoulder. His eyes widened immensely, and his mouth dropped open as he stared at the sleeping dragon. ‘’Is that…?’’ He asked quietly, and Charles nodded softly. ‘’She is. And she’s mine.’’ He said happily. ‘’So as long as you remain in my good graces, you have nothing to worry about, Paulo.’’ He smirked a little then, before he walked into his chambers, leaving the shocked knight standing outside. 

Charles walked over to his bed then, very gently taking the dragon off of his shoulder and placing her down onto his pillow, where he kissed her head and petted her back to sleep once she raised her head to see what exactly was going on here. ‘’It’s okay, sweetie.’’ He told her quietly. ‘’Daddy will be right back, I just need to go and see Maxy real quick so that he won’t lose his shit when he sees you.’’ With that, he slowly pulled away and after making sure that the little thing didn’t wake up, hurried over to Max’s chambers to speak with him.

He opened the door connecting their chambers and instantly walked into Max’s study, where he found his boyfriend focused on a ton of letters and paperwork. He looked up when Charles walked in, and almost seemed relieved to be distracted from this incredibly boring work. He instantly opened his arms, inviting Charles to come and sit on his lap for a cuddle. ‘’Charles!’’ He said excitedly, kissing his boyfriend once he sat down and cuddled in close. ‘’Oh how I missed you today.’’

Charles snorted a little at that and kissed Max again, humming as he put a hand on the man’s chest. ‘’How have you missed me when I blew you just this morning?’’ He asked, a playful smile on his lips as he moved to kiss his boyfriend’s neck. 

‘’Well I really enjoyed that, and so I’ve wanted to return the favour ever since, absolutely hating that I couldn’t.’’ Max replied, as his fingers slipped underneath Charles’ shirt and started to gently caress the bare skin that he found there. The Prince’s breath hitched for a moment, before he bit down on his lip and shook his head. ‘’I…No, Maxy. Not now. There’s something important that we need to talk about…’’

Max was pouting as Chares pulled away to look at his boyfriend, and he was incredibly close to giving the man some pity sex, but in the end managed to find the strength not to. Instead, he kissed his boyfriend’s pout away and smiled at him, before he cleared his throat. ‘’Soooooo, there’s something that happened just now when I went to see Lorenzo and I don’t know whether you are going to be delighted or…..not.’’ He started, and Max’s expression almost immediately changed into a bit of a confused frown. 

‘’So you know how I always used to want a pet, but my mother or father or Lorenzo would never allow it because I ‘could barely take care of myself so how would I look after a dog’ or whatever?’’ Charles asked, and Max nodded softly. ‘’You got a dog?’’ He asked, still not really sure why Charles was making such a big deal out of all of this. 

‘’Well…not exactly.’’ Charles answered, and really Max was just getting more and more confused by the second. ‘’You know the giant statue of a dragon out in the front courtyard…?’’ He asked his boyfriend then, and Max nodded in return. ‘’Well I now sort of have a baby version of that one now…’’ He said, bracing himself a little for Max’s reaction.

Max just stared at Charles for a moment. Then, he started to blink rapidly, like he wasn’t really processing this new piece of information yet. Finally, he started to open his mouth a few times, almost looking like he was about to say something, before he closed it again. In the end, he ended up swallowing, before taking in a deep breath. ‘’You have a dragon?’’ He whispered, causing Charles to nod softly in return.

Charles could see Max going a little pale, and he swallowed again as he blinked rapidly. ‘’I…W-where is it…?’’ He asked quietly. He suddenly spotted the tears in the fabric of where the little dragon had sat on Charles’ shoulder and reached out to gently touch it. ‘’Did it hurt you, Charles?’’

‘’What, no. Of course she didn’t hurt me.’’ Charles said with a bit of a pout. ‘’She’s really nice and the absolute cutest little thing in the whole world, you’ll see.’’ He told his boyfriend, who sighed deeply before pressing his forehead against Charles’ shoulder. ‘’Charles…it’s a dragon. It’s not a toy, or a puppy. It’s an incredibly powerful, probably fire breathing, unkillable monstrosity. The last time there was a dragon in Astral, it nearly killed my entire House.’’

Charles pulled back then and put his hands on Max’s cheeks, smiling down at him given that he was taller now that he sat on the man’s lap. ‘’But this is different. She already loves me and she will love you too because I’m her daddy and I do already.’’ He explained, before his eyes went wide with the realization of what he’d just said. ‘’I…I mean…I…’’ He stammered, but Max promptly shut the Prince up with a kiss.

He pulled away from it with a loving smile, and hummed as he caressed the small of Charles’ back. ‘’I love you too, Charles.’’ He assured him, looking at his boyfriend with pure adoration in his eyes, a look that just made Charles melt whenever he got it. He blushed a little, leaning in again to kiss Max. ‘’Why are you not more surprised that I said it…?’’ He asked quietly, earning himself a chuckle. 

‘’You already have, love. Two weeks ago in the inn, you said that you loved me as you fell asleep. I had my little moment of panic then, but I realized that I love you, too. I’ve been waiting for you to properly say it ever since.’’ Max explained with a bright smile, making Charles giggle. ‘’You love me.’’ He said quietly, looking overjoyed with it as Max held him. ‘’I do.’’ He answered quietly, before he took a deep breath. ‘’Now come on, let’s go see that dragon of yours. I’ll have to get used to the idea somehow.’’

Charles seemed almost as excited about Max meeting the little dragon as he was about getting told ‘I love you’ and so he dragged his boyfriend along back to his chambers, where the sweet thing was still curled up on Charles’ pillow, apparently satisfied with his scent even if the man himself was absent. ‘’O-oh…’’ Max said, frowning a little as he took in the sleeping form of the baby dragon. ‘’It’s…a lot less evil looking than I imagined…’’ He admitted, making Charles roll his eyes.

‘’She’s adorable looking and you know it.’’ He said as he let go of Max’s hand and walked over to the bed, leaning over to press a kiss to his dragon’s head. The little thing opened her eyes then, letting out a pleased noise when she saw Charles and nuzzling into his hand once he started to pet her again.

‘’Okay yeah, that’s pretty cute.’’ Max admitted with a chuckle, as he finally dared to approach as well. He stood there for a moment, watching Charles interact with his new dragon, and he got fonder of them with each passing moment. They were really cute together, and they somehow seemed to already love each other very much, too. 

Charles got back up then, grinning at Max, and the Northerner instantly leaned over to kiss Charles and share in his excitement. He was about to pull back and tell his boyfriend how cute he looked with his new pet, when he suddenly heard growling next to himself. When he pulled away from the kiss, he turned his head and saw the little dragon staring at him, her eyes narrowed as he growled in his direction, apparently not about to share her daddy with anyone else.

He was about to comment on it, when the room suddenly got noticeably warmer, and smoke started to come from the little dragon’s nostrils. ‘’Oh no…’’ Max said, before she opened her maws, and he could see the fire coming out of them.


	15. Ziara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, yet another new chapter. No, I don't know how the hell I'm managing this rate of writing either. But I'm travelling back to my own place tomorrow, so there'll be nothing then...maybe? I dunno yet, we'll see.
> 
> Anyway, I'm really happy that you're all excited about the dragon! This chapter features even more of her, so get ready!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy, would love to hear your thoughts! <3

Before Max could even think to do anything about the impending dragon fire that was coming in his direction, Charles was already jumping into action. He immediately reached out to block the blast as it headed into his boyfriend’s direction, and Max could just watch as the room lit up brightly. He felt the heat creeping closer to himself for a moment, before the fire started to burn away the sleeve of Charles’ tunic.

‘’Charles!’’ He immediately called out, and the little dragon stopped the instant she figured out that her fire was hitting her dad instead of this annoying man who was stealing him from her. Charles’ breathing was panicky, and he immediately started to hit his arm in an attempt to stop the fire from burning away any more of his clothes. Thankfully, given that this was still a tiny baby dragon, it had just been a small blast of fire, and so it really was only his silk sleeve that had burned away a little.

Charles had been musing on a name for a while now, but now that he was scolding the little one, it came out almost naturally. ‘’ZIARA!’’ He called out angrily, raising his finger at the little dragon. ‘’No. Bad girl. We do NOT breathe fire at daddy’s boyfriend.’’ He almost shocked himself at how stern he was, and Ziara let out a sad little whine as she curled up again, using her tail to hide herself a little as she looked up at Charles with big eyes. 

‘’C-Charles…?’’ Max asked quietly then, and Charles only turned around when the man put a hand on his shoulder. ‘’You…you were just blasted with fire…How are you not in pain?’’ He asked. It was really only at that moment that Charles realized that he was fine. He looked a little confused all of a sudden, glancing down at his forearm, which looked absolutely fine. ‘’Huh…’’ He said with a bit of a frown. ‘’That’s weird…’’

Max gently took Charles’ arm in his hands then, running his fingers over the skin. ‘’It looks like you weren’t hurt at all…’’ He said quietly. ‘’Are you…is it a weird question to ask if you’re immune to dragon fire?’’ He asked with a bit of a frown, and Charles just started to chuckle. ‘’I honestly don’t know, Maxy…’’ He admitted. ‘’Maybe just hers because she loves me?’’ He suggested, looking back at Ziara, who was still looking very guilty at trying to melt her daddy.

Charles leaned over to kiss Max, before he crouched down next to the bed again and gently petted his little girl. ‘’I’m not mad at you anymore, Ziara.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I just don’t want you to breathe fire at anyone that isn’t a real meanie.’’ He explained, and Ziara purred softly again at being petted by Charles. She leaned into the touch, and Max huffed a little as he moved to sit down on the bed. Thankfully, it was absolutely gigantic, so he there was some distance between him and the creature that just tried to kill him.

‘’Charles…What are we going to do with it?’’ Max asked, and without even looking at the man, Charles corrected his boyfriend. ‘’Her.’’ He reminded Max. ‘’Ziara is a her.’’ It made Max sigh a little and he looked on the pair with a bit of a pout. ‘’Charles…Where is she going to sleep?’’ He finally asked, and Charles looked over at Max like he had just asked the most obvious question in the world.

‘’Right here of course.’’ Charles told Max, who sighed deeply. He had expected precisely that. ‘’Charles, you know that I love you, but I don’t know how comfortable I am sharing a bed with a dragon who doesn’t like me and pretty much tried to kill me just now…’’ He tried to explain his position as best he could, but Charles looked like he was being forced to choose between his lover and his baby.

‘’Charles…’’ Max continued, patting his lap for a moment. ‘’Come here.’’ He said, opening his arms for his boyfriend. Charles hesitated for a moment, before he pressed another kiss to Ziara’s head. ‘’Daddy will be right back, sweetie. Try and catch some more sleep.’’ He told her quietly, before he walked over to Max, sitting down on his lap and pulling his legs up as he cuddled in nice and close.

Max wrapped his arms around Charles’ waist the moment that the Prince sat down at sighed softly. ‘’You can see how I’m uncomfortable with this, right?’’ He asked quietly, and Charles thought for a moment, before he finally shook his head. ‘’No…She was just acting out because she didn’t know you yet. If you’re nice to her then she’ll get used to you and you’ll be friends before you know it.’’

Max deflated a little with Charles’ answer and didn’t really know what else to say. ‘’Charles, she might have a connection with you, but to me, she’s a wild animal. A dragon. She has more power than either of us can even fathom. I know that she won’t hurt you, but will you really ever forgive yourself if she burns me during the night? Or worse?’’ Charles swallowed a little then, looking over at Ziara, who had fallen asleep again and looked like the absolute cutest little thing in the entire world. At least in Charles’ eyes.

‘’I guess not…’’ Charles finally said quietly. He munched on his bottom lip for a moment, desperately deciding what to do, but in the end it was Max who took the decision for the both of them. ‘’I’ll sleep in my own room tonight.’’ He told Charles, who was quick to shake his head. ‘’No. That’s not happening. You belong with me. In my room. In my bed. Max, I forbid you.’’ He decided, frowning deeply as he looked into his boyfriend’s eyes.

‘’You know I’ll always do as you ask, my love. But not this once.’’ Max said as he gently brought Charles’ hand and placed a kiss on it. ‘’If…if a couple of days go by and I feel comfortable enough around her then…yes. I’ll come back then. But for the foreseeable future…I just can’t. I won’t be able to sleep at all.’’ Charles’ resolve faded almost instantly, and he ended up just looking a bit sad as he cuddled with his boyfriend.

Charles gasped then, having a realization as he looked back at Max’s face. ‘’Oh…We were going to…tonight…’’ He said as he blushed a little. Max chuckled a little at that and kissed Charles’ cheek with a smile. ‘’We can wait a little longer to go all the way, love. I would’ve loved to make you feel good tonight, but I’m not angry at you that we have to postpone.’’ 

Charles nonetheless sighed deeply, his head falling down against Max’s shoulder, before he moved to gently kiss his boyfriend’s neck. ‘’I’m sorry, Maxy.’’ He said quietly, before he just closed his eyes and cuddled a little closer, feeling bad at ruining the romantic evening they’d planned together. They were going to have all of the candles, flowers and fancy drinks they could possibly wish for, and it was going to be just the two of them enjoying each other. Now though, not so much.

Max, ever the gallant knight, tried to cheer his boyfriend up, giving him little kisses and lacing their fingers together as he held the Prince on his lap. They spent a little time like that, and the kisses helped a lot, but Charles still felt incredibly uncomfortable with the thought of spending the night without the man he loved right next to him.

It was almost an hour later when there was finally a knock on the door, and Charles let out a long groan at the sound. ‘’I don’t wanna…’’ He mumbled, clinging on to Max a little more for a moment. ‘’Wanna stay with you when I still can…’’ He complained, before he finally did get up, looking already very annoyed with whoever decided it was a good idea to disturb him.

Max got up too, and walked over to the balcony like he had just been there to speak with Charles for a moment, instead of being there as his boyfriend. When the door finally opened after Charles had called to enter, it was clear that George and Paulo were happily laughing with each other. The knight was still chuckling a little as he entered the room and bowed to Charles. ‘’Sir George Russell is here to see you, Your Highness.’’ He told the Prince.

Charles looked a little confused at what exactly was going on, and his jaw dropped open slightly when George walked into the room and winked at Paulo, causing a bit of a blush to spread on the knight’s cheeks before he quickly left the room and closed the door again.

‘’That the guy you had sex with then, Charles?’’ George asked curiously. ‘’He is…damn. I don’t know if you’re still seeing him, but would you mind if I had a go? I felt like I had a really nice connection with him, if you know what I mean…’’ Charles was about to answer when Max suddenly cleared his throat and walked over, frowning deeply and back to his normal, slightly intimidating self.

‘’And just who the fuck do you think you are, addressing His Highness in this way? Mind your manners, Sir George, or I will forcibly remind you of them.’’ It really wasn’t fair. Max was very obviously agitated about the whole thing, and he was taking it out on George, a man who had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Max wouldn’t be getting any for the foreseeable future.

George looked like he was about to answer, but since Charles decided that that was a very bad idea, given the cheeky way that George spoke to even him and Lorenzo, he quickly intervened. ‘’George, hi, welcome. This is Knight Commander Verstappen, he is in charge of my personal guard.’’ He told the man, before he turned to his boyfriend. ‘’Maxy, this is Sir George Russell. He and his family have taken care of our dragon eggs for centuries, and he is to be my teacher when it comes to Ziara.’’

George narrowed his eyes a little then as he looked at Charles. ‘’First of all, good name, means fire in the old language, right? Second of all, did you just call him ‘Maxy’?’’ He looked between both Charles and Max a few times, and from the caught out expressions on their faces, it was rather easy to put two and two together. ‘’Are you two fucking?’’ He asked, the smile on his face widening with every word, and Charles looked absolutely mortified.

George started to laugh when he pretty much got instant confirmation to his question, and he continued to grin as he looked Max up and down for a moment, before turning back to Charles. ‘’Wow you really go through the members of your own guard rather quickly, don’t you?’’ And apparently that was the point where George took it too far. Before he knew it, Max had his shirt grabbed in his fist, walking George backwards until he was against the wall.

‘’Do not speak to Charles like that.’’ Max pretty much growled, and George looked surprised for a moment, before he got his composure back. ‘’Okay…slightly more than just fucking then…’’ He said and cleared his throat, looking over Max’s shoulder to Charles, who sighed softly. ‘’Maxy…let him go.’’ He told his boyfriend, who complied, albeit incredibly reluctantly.

‘’You’re together then? As in a couple?’’ George then asked, and Max glared at him as he nodded. ‘’Yes. We are. And for the record, Charles hasn’t fucked Paulo.’’ He continued to stare George down, narrowing his eyes a little. ‘’And we’d appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. I’d hate for you to find out what’ll happen otherwise.’’

George opened his mouth to answer Max, but after a moment he changed his mind and turned to Charles instead. ‘’Is he always this intense?’’ He inquired, and when Charles just shrugged a little, George chuckled and looked back at the man. ‘’Trust me, Maxy.’’ He said, and Max’s blood only started to boil further when this stranger used the pet name Charles had for him. ‘’That dragon is my entire life’s work. I definitely do not want to get on the bad side of her rider. You can trust me, honestly.’’

Max only grumbled a little in response. He had to admit that George’s argument made sense, but it still didn’t mean that he trusted him completely. ‘’So, bottom line then. I guess that all of this means that you definitely don’t mind if I’m gonna go get it on with Paulo?’’ He asked Charles, who started to chuckle then and shook his head. ‘’I don’t mind at all, as long as he isn’t on duty.’’

‘’Awesome.’’ George said excitedly, before he finally turned a little more serious. ‘’I was just down in the kitchens to make sure that the food and milk for Ziara are brought up soon, and I figured I might as well pop in to see if you had any questions.’’ He told Charles as he walked over to look at the sleeping form of the dragon. ‘’Gods, she’s so gorgeous.’’ He said quietly, careful not to wake the little thing up.

‘’I uhm…I did have one question…’’ Charles told George, blushing a little before he asked it. ‘’She’s going to sleep in bed with me, at least for a little while as she gets used to everything, but…uhm…well…’’ He was struggling with his words a little, so Max reluctantly stepped in. ‘’He’s trying to ask if it’s going to be a problem if I am in bed with him.’’ He said, and Charles sent his boyfriend a quick, thankful smile.

George hummed a little at the question and got up again. ‘’Well, from what I’ve read it seems that most young dragons get a little jealous when they’ve first hatched. They bond with their riders and see them as their parents, someone they don’t really feel like sharing all that much. So in short, I really wouldn’t recommend it. Unless you want old Maxy here to get some nasty burn marks when you get a little too close to him.’’

Charles sighed deeply at the answer that George gave, but finally nodded softly. ‘’Thanks…’’ He said, and George nodded as he stepped away from the bed. ‘’If that’s all, I’m gonna go back down and leave you be.’’ He told the pair. When Charles nodded, he moved to leave the room, and Max frowned a little. ‘’No, wait.’’ He told George.

‘’I think Charles is a little preoccupied thinking about me, but that wasn’t the only thing. Ziara, she…well she tried to breathe fire on me. And Charles intervened. And he is unhurt. No marks, no burns, nothing. Is that normal?’’ Max asked, frowning deeper the longer his question went on.

‘’Huh…’’ George said. ‘’I…actually don’t know. I mean I’ve read some things about dragon riders being immune to their own dragon’s fire, but I never actually thought it to be true…I’ll do some more research and get back to you on that one.’’ He assured the couple, before he did finally leave the room. 

After he had, Max let out a groan, while Charles just walked over to his boyfriend and hugged him tightly. ‘’Sorry…’’ He mumbled, whereas Max just sighed deeply and rubbed Charles’ back. ‘’It’s okay, love.’’ He said quietly. ‘’It was just a small mistake, it happens. I just hate that George caught on so quickly…’’

They snuggled for another couple of minutes, before the food and drink for Ziara was brought up to the room. The little dragon woke up at the smell of the cooked meat, and she immediately went to work on seemingly eating it all as fast as she possibly could, followed by drinking more milk than seemed physically possible for such a tiny creature.

She excitedly started to run around the room then, the food and drink apparently having given her a lot of extra energy, before she started to burp. Each burp that came out of the little thing was accompanied by a flame, and before long, Charles was chasing her around the room, putting out all the fires that she accidentally set to the curtains, the bed, and even Charles’ favourite morning gown.

When he finally caught her, she had done some serious damage, even though Ziara herself didn’t seem bothered by any of it in the slightest. She just seemed pleased to have played a fun game with her daddy, and now curled up again in his arms for some nice sleepy times.

It was a little later, when the sun had set and Max was reading some more paperwork in the corner while Ziara was still sleeping in Charles’ arms, that there was a knock on the door. Only it wasn’t the door of Charles’ chambers, but the door connecting Charles’ with Max’s. 

Frowning, Max got up from his seat, heading to the door to open it, only to find Paulo behind it. ‘’Excuse me for seeking you out in His Highness’ chambers, my Lord, but you weren’t in here and I needed to ask something of you.’’ Max was still frowning a little, and he nodded at Paulo then to continue talking.

‘’I…I know that I am currently off duty, but I still wanted to come and ask you whether it was proper. Sir George has asked me to come over to his chambers tonight, and I was wondering whether you would have anything against my going…?’’ Paulo looked a little awkward as he asked, and Max’s frown faded away completely, only to be replaced with a smile.

‘’Of course I don’t mind, Paulo. I just want to remind you that you are on duty again tomorrow at noon, and so while I would encourage you to have some…fun with Sir George, I would also advice you to not continue too deep into the night.’’ Paulo nodded quickly when Max finished talking and smiled. ‘’Thank you, my Lord. I shall see you tomorrow.’’

Max closed the door again when Paulo had left, chuckling to himself and shaking his head as he walked back. Charles had seen who was at the door, but it had been too far to really hear what they’d been saying. ‘’What did Paulo want?’’ He asked curiously, as Max came over to sit down on the bed with him and gave him a kiss.

‘’Well…’’ Max said as he continued to chuckle. ‘’It might not be me, but at least someone is getting some tonight.’’


	16. Sleepless Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to finish a new chapter after all even though I've packed all day AND had to drive home to my apartment for 75 minutes. You're welcome :p
> 
> Anyway, I just want to let you all know how much I LOVE George in this. To be precise, this is definitely the Sakhir GP's Hot Dark Mercedes Daddy George, to use his full title, who is smooth and sex on legs.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy the chapter as much I enjoyed writing it, let me know! :D <3

The night pretty much went exactly as Charles had feared. He had gotten so used to sleeping in Max’s arms, to the comfort of having his boyfriend so close as he fell asleep, that without him there, Charles felt incredibly restless. Ziara slept soundly, having absolutely no trouble whatsoever to fall asleep next to her rider, but Charles just couldn’t. He laid awake for hours, staring up at the ceiling with a sad pout. It wasn’t just that he felt restless, but he was scared. The nightmares had stopped ever since he’d been with Max, and he was terrified that they would return now that the man was gone from his side.

In the end, mainly just due to sheer exhaustion, Charles fell asleep, just after he could see the sun starting to rise again in the distance over the ocean. He didn’t sleep for long then, as before he knew it, little Ziara was awake and demanding attention from the young Prince. She crawled on top of him, nuzzling his cheek in an attempt to wake him so they could go and play together.

With a long groan, Charles finally opened his eyes again. In total, he had slept an hour, maybe an hour and a half, and he felt grumpy and groggy as he pushed the dragon away a little. ‘’Ziara, not now…’’ He mumbled to her, trying to roll over and catch some sleep. The little dragon wouldn’t have it though. She startled to nuzzle and whine at her daddy, and when she had had enough, smoke started to come from her nostrils again. 

Charles could feel the little thing next to him starting to heat up, and so his eyes shot open, wanting to save the rest of his bedroom from the flames. ‘’I’m up, I’m up.’’ He said, turning over to face the dragon. ‘’Daddy’s here, sweetie.’’ He said quietly, reaching out to pet her. Ziara let out a pleased little noise at the touch, and climbed onto Charles’ chest when the Prince laid back down on his back, where she proceeded to intermittently nuzzle his face or lick his cheek.

‘’Yes, I know. You’re the cutest.’’ Charles said as he sighed happily, before he closed his eyes for a moment again. He still felt so extremely tired, but the sun was fully up by now, and it wouldn’t be long before people would start to need him for things. As if he had thought it into existence, it was about five seconds later when the door between his and Max’s chambers opened and the fully dressed knight walked into Charles’ bedchambers. 

He pretty much immediately noticed the state that Charles was in and sighed softly as he sat down next to him on the edge of the bed and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. ‘’Morning, love.’’ He whispered, giving Charles a soft smile. ‘’I’m guessing that you didn’t sleep well?’’ He asked quietly, and Charles huffed. 

‘’What gave it away?’’ He asked Max, the words coming out a little more hostile than he had intended, and he immediately winced. ‘’I…sorry, I didn’t mean to…’’ He apologised, and Max just shook his heads. ‘’It’s fine, Charles. I understand.’’ He said as he leaned in again to give Charles a slow, gentle kiss, which really helped to relax the Prince a little.

That was, until Ziara started to whine, upset that her daddy was giving this man she did not like all the attention again instead of her. It made Max sigh deeply, and he took Charles’ hand in his own as he instead crouched down next to the bed. ‘’I’m gonna have to head out and get to work, love.’’ He said as he placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s palm. ‘’Be a good boy while I’m gone, yeah?’’ He asked, and Charles couldn’t help but giggle a little.

‘’I’m always good.’’ Charles replied with a bit of a devious smile, before he started to pet Ziara again. ‘’If you see George, could you ask him to send up some food and drink for Ziara? She must be hungry.’’ He told his boyfriend, who nodded in return. ‘’Of course love. And try and get some sleep when you can.’’ He added, before he left the room.

As Max left Charles’ chambers, he sighed to himself. This really wasn’t working. It was obvious that Charles hadn’t slept well without him, and that dragon was going to burn down the entire palace if they didn’t get it under control as soon as possible. And since Charles was too in love with the little demon spawn to listen to reason, Max decided that there was only one person he could turn to for help.

He went straight to Lorenzo’s study, hoping that the King would be there already since he was an early riser. Fortunately, he did run into George on the way there, and asked the man to bring up some food and drink for Ziara, something he promised Max he’d get on right away. Max was relieved to see a full guard at Lorenzo’s study when he arrived, seeing as that meant that the King was in already. He nodded at them to announce him, and once they did, he entered.

‘’Max, good morning.’’ Lorenzo greeted as Max entered, and the knight bowed deeply. ‘’Your Majesty.’’ He said, before he sat down in the chair that Lorenzo offered him. ‘’What can I do for you this morning? Is it about my brother?’’ The King asked, and Max sighed deeply. ‘’To…an extent, yes.’’ He told Lorenzo.

‘’It’s more so about Ziara…’’ Max continued. ‘’Charles’ dragon.’’ He explained when Lorenzo gave him a bit of a confused look. ‘’Ah…he named her…’’ The King said with a little sigh. ‘’He did, yes. The thing is, Ziara is already starting to give us a lot of trouble. She does not like me at all, because I am so close to Charles, and she tried to blast me with fire about two minutes after I’d met her.’’

Max saw Lorenzo was starting to frown already, and so he continued. ‘’Clearly I do not feel comfortable around her, and so I have told Charles that as long as Ziara is sleeping in his bed, I will not.’’ Max had to stop for a moment then, because the subject was a bit personal, but he decided to continue nonetheless. ‘’The thing is that Charles’ nightmares have stopped ever since we started sharing a bed. I don’t know why, but they have. I just saw him this morning, and it’s clear to me that he has barely slept at all without me there. If this were to continue, it would have serious implications on his health.’’

Lorenzo’s frown was only deepening, and he looked like he was about to speak up, but Max still had more to say. ‘’Additionally, last night after she’d eaten, Ziara decided that it would be a really fun game to run around Charles’ chambers and put everything on fire while Charles chased her around. She isn’t doing that much damage yet at her current size, but she will before long, and she might accidentally burn down an entire wing of the palace if we don’t control the creature.’’

Lorenzo took a deep breath then, before he sat back in his chair and looked at much. ‘’And what exactly are you suggesting that I do?’’ He asked, raising an eyebrow with Max. ‘’Obviously I agree that all of these are serious issues, but if Charles is not willing to give her up and Sir George says that they must stay together, I’m not sure what exactly I can do here.’’

‘’Well, I would like you to ask George at what point we can start separating them, at least during the night, so that Charles won’t lose any more sleep than he absolutely has to. I know that this whole dragon thing is important to you and your family, but I love Charles and his health is the most important thing for me.’’ Max told Lorenzo, who nodded softly. ‘’I will see what I can do, Max. But what I heard from George yesterday, it’ll most likely be a few days until Ziara can be separated from Charles.’’

Max got up then and nodded. ‘’I know, but as long as we’re on the same page, that’ll put my mind a little at ease.’’ He explained to Lorenzo, who smiled in return. ‘’We are. You know I only want the best for my little brother, too. We’ll speak again soon.’’ With that, Max left the room and actually went to work, deciding to give Charles some peace to try and maybe rest a little.

Upstairs, it wasn’t much later that there was a knock on the door. One of Charles’ Crownsguard entered the room when he called to come in, and he bowed to the Prince. ‘’Sir George Russell, You Highness.’’ The knight told Charles, before George walked in, carrying a big bowl of meat and a bottle of milk for Ziara. ‘’Morning!’’ He said excitedly.

Charles was sitting with his legs crossed on his bed, gently petting Ziara as the little dragon laid in his arms. He looked up when George walked in and smiled at the man. ‘’Morning George.’’ He said happily. Ziara lifted her head when she smelled food, and she sprinted to the edge of the bed to go see. 

The whole thing made George laugh, and he put the food down so the little dragon could fill her belly. He put Ziara’s milk on the nightstand, before he hopped onto the bed, crossing his legs as he sat down across from Charles. ‘’So…don’t be pissed at me for saying this, but you look absolutely horrific.’’ He told the Prince. ‘’Bad night I take it?’’ He asked curiously.

Charles huffed a little at George’s words and shrugged. ‘’Yeah, but not because of Ziara. She was really good actually, slept through most of the night.’’ He said as he looked fondly over at his baby girl for a moment, before he started to rub at his eyes. ‘’How was your night then?’’ He asked, and that was apparently the exact question that George had been waiting for.

‘’By the Gods…’’ He said as he let himself fall down backwards on the bed. ‘’It was absolutely incredible.’’ George put his hands on his face for a moment, before he took a deep breath and sat back up. ‘’You haven’t actually fucked Paulo right? Because you should. He’s…Wow…’’ Charles watched his old friend with an amused smile and started to chuckle a little. ‘’Was it that good?’’ He asked, honestly a little intrigued.

George broke out into a grin, and he clapped his hands as he started talking in excruciating detail. ‘’So, he looks really good inside of that armour, but when you get him out of it. It’s…wow. His thighs…I would die happy if he would just choke me with those to be honest with you. He’s shaved all over, which is fucking gorgeous by the way, and he has a great dick.’’ He sighed happily then, still grinning over at Charles and not seeming embarrassed about telling the man this in any way, shape or form.

‘’So then I had him fuck me, and wow, Charles…I don’t know what Max does to train those boys, but apparently your guards have incredible stamina, because we went long. Twice.’’ George said, and he finally broke out into laughter then. ‘’Swear to the Gods, if Paulo wasn’t on duty until late tonight, I would definitely hit that again, no matter how sore my ass is right now.’’

Charles was starting at his old friend with his mouth having fallen open a little. A blush had appeared on his cheeks, given that the images in a mind were a lot more explicit that the things that he had even gotten to with Max, and he felt like he was at an absolute loss of words, although he realized that he wanted absolutely nothing more than to change the subject to something else as quickly as possible.

‘’Uhm…so how long do you think Ziara will need to stay in bed with me?’’ Charles asked, letting out a big yawn almost instantly after. George easily went along with the change of subject, and he looked over at the little dragon with a hum. ‘’Well I did read up a little more on baby dragons before Paulo came over last night. Apparently the bonding is most important in the first 24 hours. We’re pretty much at that point now, so soon enough you should be able to leave her with other people or on her own for a while without her going feral.’’

Charles sighed a little then, pouting somewhat as the little dragon crawled back into his arms after having her meal. She seemed content, and she yawned before curling back up and going to sleep. ‘’What would that look like though? Because…I can’t really seem to sleep with her here…at all, but I don’t want you to lock her in some cage somewhere, either. She’s too precious for that.’’ He told George as he leaned down to kiss Ziara’s head.

‘’Oh, don’t worry about that.’’ George said happily. ‘’You saw the guards at the egg vault, right? We have an entire order ready to take care of her. They know all there is, well…enough about dragons to get by, so they’ll watch her downstairs while you sleep. She can play around in the vault, so she’ll be protected and she won’t be able to burn down the entire palace either.’’

Charles hummed softly at that and started to gently pet Ziara again. ‘’Do you think she’d like that?’’ He asked quietly, and George nodded. ‘’Of course. It’ll be nice people who’ll play with her and give her snacks. What’s not to love?’’ He asked and started chuckling a little. Charles nodded a little then and smiled. ‘’Can we try it tonight. I uhm…I had an evening planned with Max last night and it kind of fell through because of her so…I’d like to make up for it as soon as possible…’’ He explained.

‘’Ooohhh.’’ George said and grinned. ‘’The Prince getting it on with the commander of his own guard. Scandalous, I love it.’’ He said excitedly. ‘’Do you need to borrow some oil from me then or do you have enough to last you through the entire night?’’ He asked and chuckled softly, while Charles just looked a little confused. ‘’Oil…? What for?’’ He asked, not really understanding what the man was going on about.

George seemed a little out of it for a moment, apparently not really having counted on an answer like that. ‘’I…do you not use oil when you have sex? What do you use then?’’ He finally asked curiously, and Charles started to blush deeply then as he just looked down at Ziara, refusing to meet George’s eyes. ‘’We haven’t actually…’’ He mumbled, and from the corner of his eye he could just see George’s jaw dropping a little.

‘’You’re a virgin?!’’ He asked loudly, apparently very surprised by the fact, while Charles was quick to shut him up. ‘’Shhhh, do you want the entire palace to hear?!’’ He whisper-yelled, the blush still very much present on his cheeks. ‘’I just…wow, I’m sorry but I just cannot believe that a guy as good looking as you has never found the need to fuck anyone before. Are you taking the piss?’’ George asked then, and Charles groaned in response.

‘’No. I just…Have never felt the need with anyone before…not until Max…’’ Charles finally admitted, and that seemed to at least get through to George. ‘’Ooohhh…pure love, that’s so cute.’’ He told the Prince, before he hummed softly. ‘’Well in that case, I’ll bring up some oil tonight for you to use when I come up with Ziara’s dinner.’’ He decided, and Charles bit his lip right then.

‘’H-how….’’ He started, but closed his eyes for a moment as he just felt too embarrassed to continue. Apparently, George had noticed as much, because there was suddenly a hand on his knee. ‘’Charles…I can tell that you feel weird about this, but don’t. I’m your friend, if you want to ask me something, please don’t feel embarrassed. I’ll answer you truthfully, I promise.’’

Charles nodded softly in return then, still blushing as he finally opened his eyes again. ‘’How do I use the oil…? What do I do with it…?’’ He asked quietly, and he couldn’t help but notice how George just looked so fondly at him. ‘’Why haven’t you talked about these things with Max if you were planning on having sex?’’ He asked, and Charles just shrugged a little. ‘’I don’t know….I think he assumed that I knew and I felt too embarrassed to ask him about it…I’m just scared it’s going to hurt.’’

‘’Ooohh, Charlie.’’ George said, reaching out to take both of Charles’ hands in his own. ‘’The most important thing is trust. You have to trust that Max is going to take care of you, otherwise you won’t be able to relax and if you don’t relax and enjoy yourself, it will hurt.’’ He told the Prince with a soft smile. ‘’I do trust Maxy. Completely.’’ Charles said quickly, and George nodded. ‘’Good.’’

‘’Then the most important part is to prep yourself well.’’ George pulled one of his hands back and held up his index finger. ‘’You use the oil to lube up your fingers and later Max’s dick, so that they can glide in and out more easily. It will hurt if you try and take Max’s dick without prepping first, so you use your fingers for that. One first, then two, then three, then four if he’s a big boy.’’ George said, chuckling a little at his own joke.

‘’Once you’re comfortable taking three of your own fingers, or Max’s if you feel more comfortable with him helping you, then you are ready to take him inside of you.’’ George explained to the Prince, who seemed a little more relaxed about the whole thing now. ‘’And then it won’t hurt?’’ He asked quietly, and George sighed softly. ‘’Here’s the thing. It might still hurt. It’s going to be your first time, so that isn’t weird at all. It will hurt less and less if you do it more often.’’

Charles nodded then and finally smiled a little again at George. ‘’Thank you for telling me….and please don’t tell Max that we had this conversation.’’ He told the man, who nodded in return. ‘’Of course not. I won’t say a word to your boyfriend.’’ He replied with a wink, and Charles suddenly felt a lot more excited about the upcoming evening.


	17. Making Love (smut)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaahhhh, it's happening. Our sweet Charles is finally losing his virginity. Smut in this chapter, obviously :D
> 
> I don't usually write a lot of smut in my main fics, but this I could just not skip. It's such a big step for our lovely boys <3
> 
> Hope you enjoy, let me know, it's very much appreciated!

Charles spent most of the afternoon in the company of George and Ziara. Both Pascale and Arthur came to visit to see the precious little thing, but besides them, nobody was allowed to come into the room to give Charles and Ziara the time and space they needed to bond a little more. Charles had dinner in his chambers as well that night, given that it probably wasn’t an amazing idea to take Ziara with him into the formal dining room, given the amount of very expensive art that was displayed there.

Max finally showed up again together with dinner. He asked the maid to set a place for him as well, and once she had left the room, he walked over to Charles to kiss him. ‘’Hello, love. How are you?’’ He asked, giving the Prince a loving smile. Charles didn’t have to watch Ziara for the moment, the little dragon more than busy with her own dinner, and so he could instead wrap his arms around Max’s neck and kiss him back. ‘’I’m doing great now that my boyfriend is back with me.’’ He said happily, making Max chuckle.

‘’Glad to hear it, love.’’ Max replied with a smile, easily leaning into some more kisses when Charles insisted on them. ‘’What are your plans for tonight?’’ He asked then, trying to sneakily figure out whether Lorenzo had been over yet to tell Charles that the dragon had to stay somewhere else from now on.

Charles hummed softly then, breaking into a wide smile as he kissed Max again and sighed happily as he pulled away. ‘’Well…Ziara is gonna go with George tonight to sleep and play down in the egg vault with the other people from his order…and I was thinking that we could maybe move our plans from last night to tonight instead…’’ He proposed to his boyfriend.

Charles could see Max’s eyes pretty much lighting up at his words, and he chuckled happily to himself. ‘’Are you serious?’’ Max asked, unable to hide the absolutely gigantic grin on his face as he pulled Charles in a little closer. When the Prince nodded to confirm, Max leaned in again, kissing Charles deeply. It got a little steamy within a minute or two, and Charles pulled away then, looking a little red as he laughed. ‘’Save some for tonight, Maxy.’’

With that, Charles sat down, and he giggled as Max actually blushed a little before doing the same. ‘’I’m sorry. I just got a little ahead of myself…’’ He explained himself, and Charles just smiled in return. ‘’Totally fine, Maxy. I do love how excited you get about…going to bed with me.’’ He said, continuing to giggle as they started with their dinner.

As always, the food was amazing. It still wasn’t exactly what Max was used to, the food was mainly a lot less bland than he was used to at home, so anything spicy still made him feel like his mouth was on fire, but it was still really, really good. They finished at pretty much the same time as Ziara, and the little dragon ran back to her daddy for some more cuddles, something that Charles quickly obliged to.

He seemed to give her even more affection that Max had seen before, and the Northerner was pretty sure that it had something to do with Charles having to let her go with George soon enough. It wasn’t long after that George did show up, and after sneakily putting a bottle of oil on the nightstand while pretending to go and check on Ziara’s food bowl, he excitedly walked over to the dragon, scratching underneath her maw before he gently petted her. She had obviously quickly warmed to the man, leaning into his touch and purring almost as loudly as she did with Charles. 

‘’Oooohhh, we’re gonna have so much fun together.’’ George said happily, giving Charles a wink before he gently took the little dragon in his arms. ‘’Am I alright to take her?’’ He asked the Prince, who let out a long, deep sigh before he finally nodded. ‘’Yeah…’’ He said quietly. ‘’I guess so.’’ He walked up to the pair then, placing a kiss on Ziara’s head with a sad smile. ‘’I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetie. Be a good girl without daddy.’’ He told the dragon, before George left the room with her.

Charles was pouting a little at the door after it had closed behind George, and Max quickly walked over to his boyfriend to hug him from behind. ‘’She’ll be alright, my love.’’ He said quietly. ‘’George is going to take absolutely perfect care of her, and I’m planning to take even better care of you.’’ He said, placing a kiss on Charles’ shoulder, before moving on to his neck, giving soft, little kisses.

Charles hummed softly at Max’s words and the pleasant feeling of the man’s hug and kisses, before he just sighed happily. ‘’Okay…’’ He said quietly. He bit his lip when Max’s hands started to slip underneath his tunic, and he pulled away before his boyfriend could go too far. ‘’Maxy, I have the candles and wine and everything that I ordered for yesterday come up tonight, so if you could keep it in your pants for a little longer we can make it even more romantic.’’ He teased with a fond smile.

Max groaned a little then, pouting as he started to take his armour off, figuring that he wouldn’t need it anymore. ‘’Sorry that I’m so impatient, love. I just was just so excited about last night that now that I actually get to touch you I can barely contain myself.’’ He explained, earning himself another loving smile and kiss from his boyfriend. ‘’Soon, Maxy.’’ He said quietly, before he helped the man out of his armour and sat down on his lap to make out a little as they waited for their things to be brought up.

The candles, roses and wine that Charles had asked for was brought up not that long afterwards, and despite Max being present in the room wile it was all brought in, the staff knew better than to ask any private questions. They just bowed, brought it all in, bowed again and left as quickly as they possibly could. 

While Charles put the roses around the room and happily poured the two of them some wine, Max was on candle duty. It had gotten dark by then, it getting pretty late by then, and the candles lit the room in a lovely, romantic way. ‘’Oohhh, that’s really pretty.’’ Charles said as he turned around to look at the result, making Max chuckle. ‘’Are you talking about the room or your very handsome boyfriend?’’ He asked with a smirk, as he walked over and placed another kiss on Charles’ lips.

‘’Both.’’ Charles said and grinned, kissing Max back as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, pulling him in closer to kiss him deeply. Max hummed softly against Charles’ lips, his arms finding their way around the Prince’s waist again as he slowly walked them backwards to the bed. ‘’Then now can I finally start making you feel good, love?’’ He asked quietly.

Charles nodded softly, blushing softly as he looked into Max’s eyes. ‘’Please do, Maxy.’’ He told his boyfriend quietly, earning himself a bright smile. Max kissed his boyfriend deeply then, sitting down on the edge of the bed as he pulled Charles in to straddle his legs and sit down on his lap. As his hands found his way underneath of Charles’ tunic once again, Max licked his way into the Prince’s mouth, knowing very well how much just making out could turn his boyfriend on.

Charles moaned into Max’s mouth as he felt the man’s fingers run over his skin. He leaned in closer against the Northerner, gasping softly when his boyfriend moved from making out with him to kissing and sucking on his neck. ‘’Gods, Maxy…’’ He mumbled, his breathing speeding up a little as he grabbed on to the man’s shirt a little tighter. ‘’Want you so much.’’ He mumbled, throwing his head back to give the man better access to the skin of his neck.

Max smirked as he continued to tease and turn Charles on by focusing on the sensitive spot in his neck. ‘’You’ll have me, Charles. You’ll have all of me.’’ He told the Prince, before he pulled back for a moment to take his boyfriend’s tunic off. He threw the clothing aside, before Max put his hands on Charles’ ass and lifted him up, turning around to lay his boyfriend down on the bed. 

‘’God, you’re so unbelievably gorgeous…’’ Max said quietly, kissing his way up Charles’ body, from his abs, to his chest, to his neck, before his lips finally found his boyfriend’s again. Charles was feeling very needy already, and he reached out for Max again as soon as he could, pulling his boyfriend in to kiss him and have him close. 

It made Max chuckle softly, and he placed a few soft kisses to Charles’ lips, before he smiled down lovingly at him. ‘’How am I supposed to get undressed and make you feel good when you can’t let go of me, my love?’’ He asked quietly. Charles looked a little nervous then, biting his lip as he looked up at Max. ‘’Are you going to prep me?’’ He asked his boyfriend, who hummed and nodded softly. ‘’I was planning on it.’’ Max said, leaning down to place another kiss on Charles’ lips. ‘’Why, do you want to do it yourself?’’

Charles was quick to shake his head, looking up into Max’s eyes. ‘’No…You’re experienced, I want you to do it. To take care of me.’’ He told his boyfriend, making Max sigh happily. He was just so unbelievably in love with this man. ‘’Of course I will, Charles.’’ He answered with a loving smile, placing his lips against Charles’ again to kiss and hopefully help relax him a little. Once he felt Charles let go of the tension a little, Max pulled away and stepped off of the bed, undressing as quickly as possible. Tonight wasn’t about him his mind, all that mattered was making this as good as it could possibly be for Charles.

He could see the Prince watching him closely as he undressed, and Max would be lying if he didn’t admit that it was pretty hot to have Charles watching him like this. He jumped back onto the bed once he was done, leaning back over his boyfriend and placing a hand on the rather prominent bulge in the Prince’s pants, making him gasp. ‘’Maxy…’’ Charles breathed as he looked up at his boyfriend. ‘’Gods…please touch me.’’ He practically begged. 

Max did not need to be told again, moving around a little again so that he could remove all of the other clothes that Charles was wearing, leaving his boyfriend as naked as he was himself. He gently grabbed Charles’ hips then, gently guiding the Prince to roll over onto his stomach, so that Max could have much easier access to his ass to open him up.

‘’Oh, almost forgot the oil.’’ Max said, quickly getting up and turning to walk back to his own chambers, when Charles cleared his throat. ‘’No, Maxy. I have oil. Right there.’’ The Prince said, pointing to the bottle that George had brought him. ‘’Oh…?’’ Max asked, smirking a little as he walked over to get the oil from the nightstand. ‘’And what do you need this oil in your room for then, you sexy, little thing?’’ He asked curiously, finding the whole thing rather intriguing.

Charles just blushed at the question, biting his lip a little before he answered. ‘’So that you can prep me and finally make love to me.’’ He told the Northerner, whose cold heart melted all over again for this incredible man. He placed a gentle kiss on Charles’ thigh, waiting for the Prince to turn his head around and meet his eyes before he spoke. ‘’This might hurt a little, love. I’ll be as careful as I possibly can, but it still might. Just tell me if I need to stop and I will, okay? Do you trust me?’’

Max had barely finished the question before Charles was nodding. ‘’I trust you.’’ He told Max, giving him a soft smile before he laid his head back down again. Once Max was sufficiently reassured that Charles really wanted this, he gently pushed the Prince’s legs open and put some of the oil on his fingers, before letting some of it drip onto Charles’ hole. 

He could hear the Prince gasp softly, and Max instantly leaned down to place a kiss on his boyfriend’s ass. ‘’Just oil, love. Nothing to worry about.’’ He said as Charles nodded. ‘’I-I know…just feels weird.’’ He told Max. The Northerner chuckled a little at the comment, before he gently put his index finger at Charles’s hole, pushing slightly without going in. ‘’You ready, my love?’’ He asked quietly, only slowly pushing in when he got another nod from the Prince.

Charles gasped softly as Max’s fingers entered him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was weird, it felt strangely full, but it wasn’t…unpleasant. He bit his lip a little as he got used to the feeling, and could feel Max’s finger slowly move around to open him up a little more. When the knight felt barely any more resistance, he put a second fingers at Charles’ entrance, before leaning down to kiss his ass again. ‘’Can I add another, love?’’ He asked quietly.

‘’Gods, Maxy. Please just…please. I want you inside me so bad.’’ Charles begged, and Max hummed softly. ‘’Taking it slowly, Charles. I don’t want to hurt you.’’ He said as he very slowly inserted a second finger into the Prince. He opened up his boyfriend like that, taking it almost agonizingly slowly, too slowly really for either of them, but Max just did not want to hurt his boyfriend in the slightest. Charles was finally able to take three fingers easily, and when he only struggled a little bit when Max added his pinkie, the Northerner decided that it was enough.

It was torture for both of them to wait any longer, with Charles constantly begging for Max to please get going, and the knight himself so hard that it actually hurt. He gently pulled his fingers out of the Prince then, earning him a quiet whine which he quickly shushed by moving over to kiss his boyfriend. ‘’I’m going to roll you over again, okay?’’ Max asked quietly. ‘’Want to look in your beautiful eyes when I make love to you.’’

Charles did not protest in the slightest, and so Max turned the man over, before he reached for the oil again. He lubed himself up more than generously, before he finally got between Charles’ legs again, wrapping them around his waist instead. He positioned himself at his boyfriend’s entrance, and gave Charles a loving smile when the Prince suddenly looked a little nervous again. ‘’Any pain at all, you tell me. I’ll stop and we’ll just wait a moment. There’s no rush at all, my love.’’ 

When Charles finally nodded and whispered a ‘’Y-yes, just….please, Maxy…’’ The knight finally pushed in. It earned him an immediate gasp from Charles, who realised right away that this was something very different than taking fingers. ‘’Fuck, you’re so…big…’’ The Prince moaned, letting his head fall back for a moment. He could feel Max bottoming out, and it didn’t hurt much, it just still felt a little uncomfortable. ‘’Fuck…you’re inside me…’’ He finally said quietly, blushing like crazy when he made the realization.

Max looked down at his boyfriend’s face then, smiling fondly at him as he leaned down for a kiss. ‘’I love you so much, my beautiful, beautiful Charles. And I’ve waited what feels like a lifetime to finally make love to you.’’ He whispered as he started to slowly move his hips. Charles gasped softly then, letting out a little whine at the feeling, followed by a soft moan.

As Max started to move inside of him, the uncomfortable feeling slowly started to fade, only to be replaced by a stronger and stronger feeling of ecstasy. ‘’Oh Gods…Maxy…Fuck…’’ Charles moaned out. He held on tightly to the sheets, watching Max closely as the knight’s hands were planted right next to his head as the man slowly fucked him. He looked so strong, so sexy, so unbelievably hot, and Charles just loved him so much. 

Charles leaned up to kiss him again then, only to pull away a second later to pretty much scream in out ecstasy, as Max finally found his prostate. ‘’O-oh gods…’’ The Prince moaned, immediately feeling breathless. ‘’D-do that again, Maxy…please…’’ He begged. Max just smirked down at his boyfriend, kissing him deeply as he continued to hit that same spot again, and again, with each of his thrusts into Charles. 

It felt so fucking good to both of them, and their slow, agonizing foreplay had gone on for so long that neither of them were poised to last very long. Charles came first, utterly and completely untouched as Max nailed his prostate for a final time. His long, deep moan was muffled by Max’s mouth on his own, and the nails of his hands, which had by then moved to Max’s back to hold him tightly, dug into the knight’s back as the Prince came hard between them. 

The overload of sensations that that caused for Max was enough to send the knight over the edge as well. He could feel Charles clenching around him, and knowing that he had caused this, that he had made Charles come so strongly, so beautifully, it was more than enough. Fucking Charles through his orgasm, Max buried his face in Prince’s neck, kissing and biting a little into the skin as he came hard inside of him.

Almost instantly, Max’s need to take care of his boyfriend took over again from his primal instinct to fuck him, and he quickly pulled out, gently laying Charles back down and kissing him softly as they both came down from their orgasm. Charles had his eyes closed, and Max was suddenly worried that he had done something wrong, or that Charles was in pain, but the Prince broke into a lazy grin almost immediately, giggling softly as his eyes slowly opened. ‘’Maxy…’’ He mumbled, slowly pushing the knight over onto his back so that he could cuddle up to him instead. ‘’That was incredible…’’

Charles reaction made Max chuckle a little, and he was quick to wrap his arms around the Prince and pull him in close to his chest. ‘’That it was, love. You were so, so good. I’m so proud of you. It must’ve hurt.’’ He said as he gently brushed Charles’ moppy hair away from his sweaty forehead. The Prince just hummed, placing a kiss on Max’s shoulder as they cuddled together. ‘’Didn’t really hurt at all. I had the most amazing man in the world to take care of me.’’ He said and sighed happily, before he let out a big yawn.

‘’Oh.’’ Max said. He had sort of figured that Charles would be tired after sex, but he still wanted to clean them up first. Future Max and Charles would thank him for it. ‘’I’ll be right back, beautiful.’’ He told Charles, before he slipped out of bed and hurried to Charles’ bathroom, finding some cloths that he dunked in water and cleaned himself up with, before he brought a few others to Charles to do the same to him. 

Max gently, slowly cleaned the cum off of his boyfriend’s body, giving him sweet, little kisses all over, before the threw the cloths away and got back into bed with the man he loved. ‘’All done.’’ He said quietly as he collected his boyfriend back into his arms. ‘’You can sleep now if you want to, my love. I’ll watch over you.’’ He assured him quietly.

Max’s words just made Charles sigh happily. He was practically half asleep already, and so he just nuzzled in close before he finally started to drift off. ‘’Night, Maxy. I love you.’’ He mumbled, as Max looked on with a fond smile. ‘’I love you too, my beautiful Prince.’’ He whispered, gently caressing Charles’ hip as the Prince fell asleep in his arms.


	18. Afterglow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The afterglow chapter! Or...well...you'll see :D
> 
> Honestly though, how are people enjoying the fic? Are there things people are missing, things they want to see more of? I have the story outline ready, but I'm just really curious as to what you all think for the future. Let me know! <3

When Max woke up the morning after, he was met by a pair of vibrant green eyes staring up at him. It immediately made the Northerner chuckle, and he pulled Charles in a little closer as his eyes fell shut again for a moment. ‘’Morning, beautiful.’’ He mumbled, nuzzling his face in the Prince’s hair for a moment as Charles sighed happily. ‘’Good morning.’’ He said quietly, letting Max hold him close as he gave his boyfriend time to properly wake up.

He was afraid after a minute that Max had fallen asleep again, but the man opened his eyes when Charles shifted again to look up at him. ‘’How are you feeling?’’ Max asked quietly, ever worried about the wellbeing of his boyfriend, and Charles pouted a little at the question. ‘’I mean…I’m really, really, really happy that we did what we did last night, because it was amazing and I love you and you’re perfect…’’ Charles started, and Max hummed softly in return. ‘’Every single one of those things back at you in double, but I hear a ‘But’ in there, right?’’ Max asked, earning himself a little sigh from the Prince.

‘’But I didn’t know that I’d feel this sore the day after. And you…you…’’ Charles said, blushing deeply and burying his face in Max’s chest, because it just felt so awkward to talk about. It made Max frown a little, and he very gently lifted Charles’ chin, until the Prince was forced to look him in the eye. He leaned in then, kissing his boyfriend before giving him a loving smile. ‘’Don’t be embarrassed to talk to me, Charles. I love you, you can always tell me whatever it wrong.’’ He assured the Prince.

Charles groaned then, and he continued to blush as he finally told Max what was bothering him. ‘’You came while you were still inside me last night and now I feel sticky…’’ He admitted, and Max started to chuckle softly. He kissed Charles again, before he gently pulled the Prince up to lie down on top of him and wrapped his arms around the man’s waist. ‘’You are so cute.’’ He told his boyfriend with a smile, giving him soft little kisses as they just cuddled together and enjoyed the afterglow of the night together.

‘’I am so happy that I urged Lorenzo to tell you that you should let George take care of Ziara from now on. We wouldn’t have had this night together otherwise.’’ Max said and sighed happily as he gently played with Charles’ impossibly messy hair. The Prince just hummed softly, before he blinked a few times, processing the information, until he finally slowly turned his head to look up at Max. ‘’You did…what?’’ He asked, putting emphasis on the final word and his tone immediately very pissed off.

‘’I…I talked to Lorenzo…Didn’t he tell you when he showed up…?’’ Max asked, taken aback a little by the sudden shift of tone in Charles. ‘’No, Max. He didn’t.’’ The Prince said, and the way that Charles said his name made the Northerner wince a little. He had gotten so used to ‘Maxy’, that Charles not using the pet name just didn’t feel right anymore. ‘’I didn’t because Lorenzo hasn’t been here yesterday. I was the one who decided to let George take Ziara. I was the one who took responsibility and made the decision. And I am the only one who decides what goes on in my life. Not you. Not Lorenzo. Nobody. Am I clear?’’ Charles was nearly growling at the end there, and Max had to admit that he was a little scared of the Prince at that point.

Charles was towering over him, his hands next to Max’s head in a way that almost seemed to mirror the way that Max had been over Charles the night before. Max had to swallow a little then, and he looked a nervously into the Prince’s eyes. It was a little scary to see his boyfriend like this, but by the gods it was hot. Max had to actively try and stop himself from getting hard, and he was almost relieved when Charles let out a frustrated groan, before getting out of bed.

He walked around the room in circles, still very much naked, and still very much distracting Max by how absolutely smoking hot that the Prince looked. Charles massaged his temples as he walked back and forth, until he finally turned back to the bed, glaring at his boyfriend. ‘’Do you have anything to say for yourself?’’ He asked seriously, and the Northerner felt at a loss for words at the sudden question. He stared back at Charles, his eyes drifting off a few times to look at the Prince’s absolutely gorgeous body, before he finally answered. ‘’You…you look really hot…’’ He said quietly.

‘’Get out.’’ Charles told his boyfriend, looking dead serious as he stared Max down. It made the knight frown, and he quickly crawled over to the edge of the bed, looking up at his boyfriend. ‘’What…?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Are you kicking me out…?’’ He continued, and he watched Charles swallow before he nodded. ‘’I am. I-I don’t want to see you today. Not at all. I need to think.’’ He told his boyfriend, who looked absolutely shocked. ‘’Can I…Can I come and sleep here tonight…?’’ He asked.

Charles sighed first, before he answered, needing a moment to consider it. ‘’I don’t know, Max. I…I feel like you’ve broken my trust. You didn’t talk to me about it, you went over my head to Lorenzo, and you apparently think that I can’t make a decision like this on my own. Go, Max. Before I say things that I’ll regret.’’ He told his boyfriend.

Max continued to stare at Charles for a moment, before he silently got up and walked over to his clothes, putting them on. This went on for a couple of minutes, until the Northerner was finally fully dressed again. He turned back to Charles, walking over to him and gently taking his hands. He was relieved when the Prince didn’t just slap him away, and he finally looked back into his boyfriend’s eyes.

‘’I’m sorry, Charles. You’re completely right of course. I shouldn’t have gone over your head. I just…I was so worried about Ziara damaging the palace, your room…me, and you were so hopelessly in love with her that I was scared you wouldn’t listen to reason. I was wrong. I accept that. You are the Crown Prince, and you are in charge of your own life. I hope you will forgive me, and I will give you the space you need.’’ Max placed a kiss on Charles’ hand then, before taking two steps backwards and bowing deeper than he ever had to Charles in public. ‘’Your Highness.’’ He said, before he finally left the room.

Charles closed his eyes then. He didn’t want to have to do that. He really, really didn’t. But he had to. Max just apparently didn’t respect him enough, didn’t trust him enough to have this kind of responsibility. And it made him just so angry. He trusted Max completely, with his whole life, and it hurt that it didn’t seem to be that way the other way around.

The Prince put on some underwear and cleaned up the room a little, removing the evidence that showed he was with Max that night, before he finally just sat down, needing a minute to think. Not long after, his maid showed up, helping him pick and put on his outfit for the day, before he headed downstairs. He and Max woke up pretty early these days, and Charles often even managed to have breakfast along with his family. Today, Pascale and Lorenzo were just sitting down for breakfast, with Arthur apparently sleeping in.

‘’Goodmorning, sweetheart.’’ Pascale greeted happily, getting up to kiss Charles’ cheek before he was allowed to sit down. ‘’Morning.’’ Charles grumbled in return, and Pascale and Lorenzo instantly shared a look. Charles got like this from time to time, and they both knew that he would just stay endlessly in his own mind if they didn’t try and get him out it. They did their best during their breakfast, but Charles gave nothing back, just grumbled angrily, much to their frustration.

When he finally only looked up at Lorenzo and told him ‘’We need to talk after breakfast.’’ Pascale’s patience was at its end. She slammed her fork down and narrowed her eyes at her son. ‘’Charles. You may have had a bad night, but that is no excuse for this behaviour. Address your brother with the respect that he deserves, or do not open your mouth at all.’’ She ordered him. Charles opened his mouth to argue and tell her that he technically outranked her, but his mother’s look told him that there was no room for any arguing whatsoever.

With a deep sigh, he looked back at Lorenzo then. ‘’Brother, might I have a moment to please talk to you after our meal?’’ Charles finally asked, and Lorenzo nodded softly, actually seeming a little amused. ‘’Of course, Charles. Honestly, I’m a little intrigued as to what the subject is after all that.’’ He teased his little brother, before he went back to his breakfast.

After they had finished, they all got up, and Lorenzo started to walk with Charles back to his study. As they walked over, Charles looked over at the knights following them. His eyes landed on Paulo, and he gestured for him to come over. ‘’Go down to the egg vault and make sure that Ziara and George are okay and haven’t killed each other during the night.’’ He told the Crownsguard, who nodded immediately. ‘’Yes, Your Highness.’’ He told Charles, before he quickly ran off to do as he was ordered.

Once they got to Lorenzo’s study, Charles sat down and sighed deeply as he stared out the window for a moment, before he turned back to face his brother. ‘’I fought with Max.’’ He told the King, who hummed softly. ‘’I wondered why you were so grumpy. Had to be something serious.’’ He said with a small smile. ‘’Do you want to talk about it?’’ He asked his little brother, who just shrugged a little in return.

‘’I don’t know…I…why didn’t you come and see me yesterday after Max talked to you? Then I could’ve just been pissed at him last night instead of this morning and this would’ve all been over with already.’’ Charles told his brother, sighing deeply as Lorenzo started to frown. ‘’That’s what you’re fighting about?’’ He asked, a little confused. ‘’Why…? Was he wrong for coming to me?’’

‘’Seriously?’’ Charles asked, really not believing his own ears. ‘’You too? Why does everyone here just think that it’s completely okay to go over my head with everything and ignore what I think?’’ He demanded from his brother, who continued to frown. ‘’That’s…that’s not what this is, Charles.’’ Lorenzo told his brother. ‘’Max came to me because he simply thought that you wouldn’t listen to him and you would to me. That might be an error in judgement, because I think that you would listen to your boyfriend if he asked something of you, but that’s beside the point. He didn’t come here to ask me to take Ziara away from you, but to ask me to come and speak with you, because he thought that I would get through to you. It would still always be your decision, little brother.’’

Lorenzo sighed deeply then, folding his hands on his desk as he leaned forward a little. ‘’You two clearly have a little communication issue here. And you can choose to either make a big thing of it, or to sit down like two adults and talk it out. Your choice, Charles.’’ He watched his brother for a moment, smiling as it was clear that Charles resigned himself to his fate. ‘’Fine. But I still think that he was wrong for going to you so quickly.’’ He told Lorenzo as he relaxed a little in his seat, making his brother laugh. ‘’Then tell him that, little brother!’’ He told him, still chuckling to himself as the maid entered to bring them some tea.

They had their tea together, talking about some other subjects such as Max and Charles’ trip to Skoedal, and Lorenzo’s annual birthday ball soon after they got back. When they finished, Charles say his goodbyes to Lorenzo, before he stepped out of his brother’s study, frowning a little when he didn’t see Paulo there to give his report. It was a little worrying, and it made him want to get down to the egg vault as quickly as possible.

He immediately went down then, making the long walk down through the catacombs of the palace to the egg vault. The guards that were keeping an eye out immediately let him in as they recognized him, and Charles nodded at them as he walked inside. The area there was gigantic, and it appeared that they had taken Ziara to a separate room on the side for her to safely play and sleep in. When Charles walked in, his mouth immediately dropped.

Ziara was in the middle of her meal, seeming perfectly content, but on the other side of the room, George had Paulo pinned against the wall, making out with him like there was no tomorrow. It took Charles loudly clearing his throat for either of them to notice that he was there, and George immediately broke into a grin when he saw who it was. ‘’Charles!’’ He said excitedly, walking over to hug the man like nothing had just happened at all. At the same time, Paulo looked at the ground, blushing and refusing to meet the Prince’s harsh gaze.

Charles barely hugged George back, and he cleared his throat again to get Paulo’s attention. It forced the knight to look up and meet Charles’ gaze, and he winced as the Prince started to speak. ‘’When I tell you to go and check on Ziara and George, you are supposed to report back to me, not stay here and make out with George.’’ He told his Crownsguard angrily, and Paulo instantly bowed deeply. ‘’Yes, Your Highness. My apologies, Your Highness.’’ He told Charles, before he hurried outside to wait for Charles there.

George sighed deeply as he watched Paulo go and crossed his arms. ‘’Well that was uncalled for…’’ He told the Prince. ‘’To be honest, I genuinely think that he was under the impression that it meant to come down here and make sure everything was good until you arrived. You can’t blame the poor lad for that.’’ He added, and Charles rolled his eyes. ‘’I can blame him for making out with you while he’s on duty.’’ He told George, making the man laugh.

‘’Seriously, Charles? Have you seen this?’’ He asked, gesturing to himself. ‘’Can you really, honestly, blame anyone for making out with me, on duty or not? I don’t think so.’’ He said and chuckled to himself, as Ziara suddenly came rushing past. She had finished eating and now finally had the time to greet her daddy, climbing up his leg and torso to sit down on his shoulder and happily nuzzle his cheek, overjoyed to see him. ‘’Hi, sweetheart.’’ Charles said quietly as he gently started to pet the little thing. ‘’I missed you, too.’’

George let them be for a minute, cleaning up after Ziara, before he returned and clapped his hands with a grin. ‘’So, last night. How was it? Tell me everything.’’ He told Charles, and the Prince instantly blushed. ‘’Fine…but keep your mouth shut to anyone else…’’ He told George, before he started to spill the beans on his evening with Max.


	19. Duty Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this next chapter, we're putting this act of the story behind us, and starting the next one!  
> And while that might be exciting, you might also hate me afterwards, given all the absolute insanity that I have planned! :D  
> Are you excited, because I certainly freaking am.
> 
> Love you all so much, thank you for sticking with me and let me know what your thoughts are on the fic so far and what direction you think it'll go in! <3

’Well, it definitely sounded like you have had your first night of passion.’’ George said with a grin as Charles finished talking about his romantic evening with Max. The Prince nodded, sighing happily and really forgetting why he had been angry with his boyfriend in the first place. It had started to fade away a little after his talk with Lorenzo anyway, but Charles had still been a little stuck in the whole ‘I have decided I am going to be angry and grumpy today’ mindset, until he cuddled his little Ziara again and talked to George about how amazing and romantic Max had been the night before.

‘’It was. It was amazing.’’ Charles said as he slowly petted Ziara. They had sat down by then, and he had been cuddling with his little dragon ever since seeing her. They had been apart for hours through the evening and night, and they’d obviously missed each other a lot. It was a little bit of a hassle, because Ziara kept demanding Charles’ attention whenever he started to get a little too animated in telling George about the evening, but as long as he kept petting her, Ziara seemed to be alright.

Now that Charles had finally finished with his story, it was time to change the subject to other things, specifically something that interested Charles a lot. ‘’So…what exactly is going on with you and Paulo then? Do you guys have a thing now?’’ The question seemed to surprised George a little, and he shrugged in return. ‘’No? At least not from my point of view. I’m not really looking a for a long time thing, just having fun with him if I’m honesy. Why, did he say something? Because it’s not like I want to break his heart, I thought he knew what we were doing…’’ He explained to Charles, suddenly looking a little worried.

Charles shook his head in return. ‘’No, he hasn’t said anything. I just figured that I should ask given how much time you guys apparently spend either making out or having sex.’’ He told George with a bit of a shrug. ‘’I’ll…I’ll talk to him.’’ George told Charles. He was frowning a little, and the Prince hummed a little, before he finally smiled. ‘’You’re a good guy.’’ He told his friend. ‘’You might not always seem like it, but you are a really good friend to me and I’m glad you want to make sure you’re doing the right thing with Paulo.’’ He told George honestly.

George gave Charles a nod to show he appreciated his words, before he finally broke the silence again. ‘’But if I have any choice on the matter I will definitely want to keep fucking him. Because honestly…holy shit. I know you’re not fighting with Max anymore, but I would definitely have invited you into a three-way.’’ He said and grinned, making Charles facepalm. ‘’This is what I meant when I said you may not always seem like it.’’ He told his friend, before he just broke into laughter along with him.

They sat there for hours, talking and catching up some more on years lost as Charles played and cuddled with Ziara. When she finally had had enough and went back to sleep, Charles decided that it was time to go back up and have some dinner, and later talk to Max, too. He put Ziara down in the nest that George had made for her and pressed a kiss to her head, before he said his goodbyes to George and went back upstairs for dinner with the rest of the family.

He was looking a bit of a mess, having played with a dragon all afternoon long, but Charles figured that nobody would really care all that much. He was smiling as he walked into the dining room, and Pascale lit up the moment that she saw her little boy. ‘’Hi, Charles.’’ She said, sighing happily as she walked over and kissed his cheek. ‘’It’s so good to see you smile, sweetheart.’’ She told Charles, caressing his cheek for a moment, before she returned to her talk with Lorenzo.

Arthur was lounging as Charles came in, and he looked over when his mom walked over. He got up after Pascale walked away, and he quickly took her place to speak with Charles. ‘’Did you go play with Ziara?’’ He asked curiously, looking his brother up and down and figuring that with Charles’ out of control vanity, there really was no other explanation for the way he currently looked. He grinned when Charles nodded and clapped his hands. ‘’Can I please come with you, tomorrow? She is the absolute best and I’d love to play with her more.’’ He pleaded with his brother.

It made Charles laugh, and he nodded quickly. ‘’Of course, Arthur!’’ He said excitedly. ‘’I mean, at some point I will have to go to Skoedal with Max and I don’t think it’d be wise to bring her. So someone is going to need to take care of her, and while that will be George, she’ll need a playmate, too.’’ He told Arthur, who rolled his eyes a little on Charles’ words, but still seemed very excited. ‘’You know you can count on me, Charles.’’ He told his brother, before one of their butlers walked into the room and announced dinner was to be served.

It was nice, and everyone was mainly happy to see Charles a lot less grumpy than earlier that day, even though Charles was a little absent, his thoughts already with Max again. He desperately wanted to go and see his boyfriend, to talk this out and make out a little and fall asleep in his arms as always. He was still a little annoyed about Max not communicating well with him, but having him stew on all of this for the entire day was more than enough punishment.

He excused himself as soon as they were done with dinner, going back upstairs to his chambers. When he didn’t find Max there, he went over to his boyfriend’s chambers, where he seemed to walk in on a meeting of practically the entire Crownsguard. They all got up to bow to him, and Charles looked over into Max’s eyes for a moment. ‘’Knight Commander Verstappen, might I have a word with you in private?’’ He asked, staring right at his boyfriend without even acknowledging any of the other half dozen people in the room.

Max immediately nodded. ‘’Of course, Your Highness.’’ He told Charles, before he looked at the knights present in the room. ‘’That concludes our meeting. Thank you, everyone.’’ He told the men present. They all bowed and greeted Charles again, before quickly filing out of the room. Max was still standing on the opposite side of the long table, sighing softly as he looked over at Charles. ‘’So…in how much trouble am I still…?’’ He finally asked, making Charles hum softly.

‘’That depends…Do you still believe that you were an idiot and you should always, and I mean always, talk to me first before going to Lorenzo or whoever the fuck you think would be better suited to talk to me instead of you?’’ Charles asked, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend. The sun was setting by then, and with the window behind him the soft light of the golden hour fell absolutely beautifully on Charles’ face, highlighting all of his features. He looked positively dreamlike, and Max could barely believe that this was his actual boyfriend.

He did finally nod, realizing that he had been staring for a moment too long to take in how amazing Charles looked. ‘’Yes.’’ He said quickly. ‘’I am an idiot. I shouldn’t have talked to Lorenzo and should’ve instead spoken with you instead.’’ He agreed with Charles, letting out a sigh of relief when the Prince finally smiled at him. ‘’Then I would really like it if you came over here right now and kissed me.’’ Charles told the knight, who rushed over as fast as he possibly could.

Max walked over to Charles, putting his hands on the Prince’s cheeks as he leaned in and kissed him deeply. ‘’I love you.’’ He said quietly, sighing happily as he pulled away from the kiss, only to instantly hug Charles tightly afterwards. ‘’I don’t deserve you.’’ He added, and Charles snorted in disbelief. ‘’Shut up. You damn well do.’’ He informed Max, nuzzling his neck for a moment as they stood there. ‘’And I love you too.’’ He added after a few seconds.

‘’So I’m still feeling a little sore, and I would really, really appreciate it if my amazing boyfriend would spend the evening massaging me and making me feel good…’’ Charles then tried, pulling away to give Max a pleading look. ‘’And also maybe as a way of making it up to me…?’’ He added, making Max chuckle. ‘’Charles, do you really think that you need to convince me to touch you all over your absolutely irresistibly gorgeous body?’’ He asked curiously, a fond smile on his lips. ‘’Why don’t you go ahead and find us the oil, and I’ll join you after finishing up here.’’

They spent a really nice evening together like that, enjoying each other’s company and touch, before spending the night together in each other’s arms. The next few weeks went by mostly like that. The only real thing that changed over time was that Ziara got seemingly larger by the day, and after a couple of weeks was about the size of a small dog. She really wasn’t allowed out of the catacombs anymore, besides when she went to fly or hunt, given that everyone was more than a little afraid the dragon was going to burn down the entire palace.

Over the course of those same weeks, everything had been agreed and put in place for Max and Charles’ visit to Skoedal. Their travel was scheduled to take somewhere between two to three weeks. A couple of days to get to Turon first, where they would spend the night and resupply, before turning northward, needing another 2-2.5 weeks to get there, depending on how harsh the weather would be in the mountains.

The days leading up to the day of their departure were difficult. Both Max and Charles had a sense of duty that was more than big enough to ensure that they would go through with the trip, but neither of them were particularly excited. In Charles’ case, it was of course that he would have to leave Ziara behind for weeks, and he was convinced that it would actually hurt his soul to do so. He loved the dragon with all his heart, which seemed to be almost as much as she loved him. Really, she was just still the cutest thing in the entire world, at least to Charles. He also hated that he had to say goodbye to his family again. He really had never gone anywhere without at least one of them present, and even though he still had Max by his side, the prospect was still a little scary.

For Max, it was clearly an entirely different story. He was dreading going home for one reason in particular. Charles. He was of course excited to finally see his mother and sister again, he had missed them like crazy, but if his father would find out about his relationship with Charles, his life would be over. Literally. He would most like be summarily executed, and Charles alongside him. That could not, would not happen. His father could absolutely never know. It meant that he was awake for nights on end, worrying about hiding their love as Charles slept soundly against his side. 

When the day of their departure had finally come, Charles woke up at the break of dawn. He wanted to have enough time to say goodbye to Ziara, and let Max sleep as he snuck out of the room to go and do so. He took an hour or two to say goodbye to his little girl, as well as George, before he finally went back upstairs to have a quick bite and leave after. Lorenzo, Pascale and Arthur were there to send them on their way. They all said lengthy goodbyes to their Charles, before they were finally allowed to set off for Turon.

The honour guard that went along with Max and Charles was even larger than the one that had accompanied the Royal Party a number of weeks earlier, when they had originally gone to Turon. It was one of the increased security measures that Lorenzo had instated given the attack on their lives, as he wanted his little brother to be perfectly safe. It did sadly mean though, that despite not bringing along half of the Royal Court, they weren’t making that much better time on the road.

It still took them about three days in total to reach Turon, although thankfully they didn’t meet any resistance on the way there. As they approached the castle though, it was clear that Charles started to get a little nervous, and Max made sure to stay close by Charles’ side. ‘’It’ll be fine.’’ He told his boyfriend quietly. ‘’It’s been a couple of weeks, surely Pierre must have been over it by now, right…?’’ He asked Charles, and the Prince answered with a long, deep sigh.

‘’You don’t know Pierre like I do…’’ He told Max. ‘’He can hold grudges for a really, really long time. I don’t know if he has forgiven me and I don’t know what I’ll do if he hasn’t…’’ Charles added, fidgeting a little with the reins of his horse as they rode in. They finally reached the gates of the castle, and the welcoming party awaiting them was almost as large as it had been for Lorenzo. They all bowed to Charles, and he politely greeted Lord and Lady Gasly, although Pierre’s absence said a lot. Lady Gasly excused her son, telling Charles that he was out hunting, but that she expected him back before the prince was continuing on to Skoedal.

Charles nodded in acknowledgement with a weak smile, and asked if he could please be shown to his rooms until dinner, given how tired the journey had made him. He was finally shown to his rooms, and when asking about Max’s, found out that the Northerner had been designated rooms on the opposite side of the castle. Pierre’s doing, no doubt. He went down for dinner with Lord and Lady Gasly when he was supposed to, acting the absolute example of politeness and princeliness as he dined with them.

When he finally retired for the night, Charles laid awake, staring at the ceiling as he tried to put his thoughts in order until finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He got dressed again, making sure he was at least somewhat presentable before he finally left his chambers, making his way through the castle to his destination. When he finally reached it, he walked in without knocking, seeing a figure sitting by the fire as he entered. The man looked up when Charles closed the door, and the Prince took a deep breath, swallowing thickly to get himself together, before he finally spoke up.

‘’Hi..…Pierre. Can we talk?’’


	20. Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Next chapter!
> 
> PIERRE IS BACK! Oh, how I missed my sweet, beautiful, little, French croissant <3  
> He and George might be my absolute favourite characters in the entire fic.
> 
> Let me know what you think of the chapter, and the fic in general, and I hope you enjoy it! <3

‘’Hi…..Pierre. Can we talk?’’ Charles asked quietly. 

He looked over at Pierre, who was sitting by the fire, still in the clothes he had apparently gone out hunting in. The mud on his shoes looked fresh, and it seemed like he had sat down not too long ago, now just nursing a glass of wine by the warmth of the flames. Charles was nervous as he walked in. He really hadn’t had any plan other than that he really, really wanted to go and see his very best friend in the entire world. And now that he was here, he didn’t really know what to do or say. He started to bite his lip a little, moving his weight from one leg to the other as he played a little with the sleeves of his tunic.

Pierre looked on at this for a moment, staring at Charles with a blank expression on his face. He finally only moved to cross his legs and his arms, his body language a little defensive as he turned to properly face Charles. ‘’Then talk.’’ Was all that he told the Prince.

Charles swallowed again at Pierre’s words and took a deep breath, before he started to talk. ‘’Pierre…I love you. You are my best friend, my confidant, my brother. I know that I was wrong, that I hurt you, but…I told you that I am sorry. I am so, so sorry for lying to you multiple times, for hiding something from you that was so important in my life.’’ He had to take a bit of a shaky breath then, doing his best to keep his emotions under control when really, all he wanted to do at that moment was cry, because it hurt so much that Pierre was angry with him.

‘’But…I love Max. I love him like I have never loved anyone else before, and…I am willing to tell you the whole truth now, if you want to hear it.’’ Charles said quietly. He waited then, watching Pierre, who finally nodded to the chair across from him, and poured a second glass of wine for Charles. He put the glass on the other end of the table, before he took his own glass, sipping from it as he looked at the Prince. He still wasn’t saying anything, and it was worrying Charles a lot, but at least he hadn’t been kicked out yet.

He took a few rather large sips of wine to give himself some courage, before he finally started to talk again. ‘’So…really from the moment that Max slept in bed with me after I had nightmares on the road, when we came over here for the tournament, we had been circling each other a little bit. I liked him a lot, and I thought that he liked me too, but I wasn’t sure. Then we went through the whole saga of me thinking that I disgusted him, which turned out to only be because he was afraid. Afraid of what would happen if we did get together.’’

Charles took another sip then, closing his eyes for a moment as he continued. ‘’The night after the tournament, when I went back upstairs to my room after spending the evening here with you, there was a letter from Max on my pillow, along with the rose that he won. That letter…it was the most heart-breaking thing I have ever read in my entire life, Pierre.’’ Charles said quietly, and he sniffled a little as the memories of the contents came flooding back into his mind.

‘’Homosexuality is taboo in Skoedal, forbidden. You know that.’’ Charles started. He was leaning forward at this point, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands as it clearly pained him a lot to retell this entire harrowing story. ‘’Max…Max is gay, as you also know…and he has had a boyfriend before. A couple of years ago. They were happy. They were…in love. And he died. On Lord Verstappen’s orders. With Max present.’’ Charles’ bottom lip was quivering a little at this point, and he had to wipe at his left eye as a tear threatened to escape it.

‘’Max said that since that day, he had been convincing himself that he wasn’t gay, that it was a fluke. That is…until he met me…’’ Charles laughed humourlessly then, almost like he couldn’t believe it. ‘’He said that he was falling in me, and that he had never been more scared. Not for himself, but for me. He was terrified that his father would hurt me if we ever got together, and that’s why we could never be.’’

A small smile formed on Charles’ lips then, and he huffed a little as he thought about what happened next. ‘’Well…you know that I’ve never liked being told no, so I burned the letter to be safe, and went over there as fast as I could, kissing him and pretty much informing him that we were going to be together.’’ He explained to Pierre. ‘’So…that’s why I didn’t tell you. Max only accepted on the condition that I could tell absolutely nobody for my own safety. That included you. It was his own best friend that betrayed him, that sold him out to his father…he feels like he can’t trust anyone anymore.’’

Looking up then was the first time that Charles actually looked into Pierre’s eyes again since he’d started talking. The man was still staring at him with the same, blank expression. It didn’t surprise Charles, he had always been good about hiding his emotions. ‘’Get up.’’ Pierre finally told him, much to Charles’ shock. Was he really still going to kick him out? After he’d shared so much, relived through all that pain? His breathing was shakily again as he got up, and he gave his best friend a pleading look. ‘’Pierre, please I-‘’ Charles started, but he was immediately interrupted.

Pierre had gotten up and had thrown his arms around Charles, taking the Prince into what felt like pretty much the tightest hug of his entire life. ‘’Pierre, I-‘’ Charles started again, only to immediately be interrupted once again. ‘’Shut up.’’ Pierre said quietly, his own voice sounding a little unstable as he spoke. ‘’Just please shut up for once in your life, Charles.’’ He told the Prince, closing his eyes as he held his best friend in his arms.

Charles immediately hugged Pierre back then, and it was a minute or two before the man finally spoke up again. ‘’I love you so much, Charles.’’ He said quietly. ‘’You have no idea how much it hurt me to be angry with you for so long, to not see you, to not write to you…it was killing me. If you had…If you had just shared a little more with me then…’’ Pierre closed his eyes again then, sighing deeply. ‘’The worst part is that I understand. Now that I know, I understand and I’m sorry for what I did to you..…and to Max.’’

‘’You beat him up…’’ Charles said quietly, and Pierre groaned as he finally pulled away from the hug. ‘’He had it coming! He was being an asshole and I didn’t know better than that he really was manipulating you and he still deserved payback for the final of the tournament.’’ He argued with Charles, who chuckled softly. ‘’And you’re sure you weren’t a little jealous about Max stealing me away from you…?’’ He asked, making Pierre huff as he sat back down and took a big gulp of wine.

‘’I hate you.’’ Pierre told the Prince, making Charles giggle happily as he too sat back down and sipped his wine. ‘’I love you too, Pierre. And I’m happy that you’re not angry with me anymore.’’ Pierre hummed softly at that, narrowing his eyes a little. ‘’Is that the only secret that you’ve neglected to tell me then?’’ He demanded, and Charles blushed a little. ‘’Well…regarding that it is. There is some detail that I haven’t filled in, but it’s the gist of it. The rest is private for Max and he’d hate me if I told you.’’

Pierre hummed softly at that. He wanted to pry a little more, but decided not to, as a show of goodwill to Charles. ‘’What else is there then?’’ He asked curiously. Charles continued to blush softly, looking down at his hands as he chewed on his lip a little, and Pierre suddenly gasped. ‘’You didn’t?! Did you?!’’ He demanded, and the Prince finally nodded softly. ‘’We did.’’ He told Pierre, who was grinning widely. ‘’How was it? Everything you hoped it would be?’’ He asked curiously.

Charles nodded softly. ‘’It was amazing.’’ He told Pierre as he sighed happily. ‘’He was sweet and kind and lovely and…I love him so much.’’ He told his best friend, smiling to himself as he thought back on it. ‘’And it didn’t stay by that one time either.’’ He added with a bit of a chuckle. ‘’Which is why it’s so incredibly mean that you have put us on opposite sides of the castle.’’ He told the man, who laughed a little. ‘’Yeah, it was a bit of a dick move. But I was angry.’’ He said and shrugged.

‘’Oh!’’ Charles then said all of a sudden. ‘’I almost forgot to tell you. I have a dragon now.’’ He said proudly, breaking into a wide grin as he thought of his little girl. Pierre looked at his best friend in complete disbelief. The whole idea sounded completely preposterous, and Pierre really could not believe his own ears. ‘’I’m sorry, you what…?’’ He asked, frowning slightly. ‘’A dragon.’’ Charles repeated excitedly. ‘’Four legs, two wings, lots of scales, breathes fire. A dragon.’’

‘’Who…who decided that it was a good idea to let you have a dragon?’’ Pierre asked, and Charles pouted at his friend. ‘’I’m responsible!’’ He argued in return. ‘’Since when?! In the six weeks that I haven’t seen you?’’ He demanded. ‘’How does…Have you…A DRAGON, Charles?! Really? Do you even know how to take care of a creature like that?’’ 

‘’No, I don’t!’’ Charles replied, continuing in the exact same argumentative tone, before switching back to his nice, relaxed self again. ‘’But George does. He’s an old friend of mine, I think I mentioned him before when we were younger. Turns out he’s part of an order that used to take care of our dragons when we still had them and so now he takes care of Ziara for me. I really think you’d like him a lot, he also doesn’t respect me.’’ He told Pierre, giggling a little as the wine was now properly catching up with him. ''He also suggested I should fuck Paulo before I fucked Max, so you have that in common, too.''

Pierre started chuckling at that, shaking his head as he finished his wine. ‘’Sounds like a guy I would really like, yeah. You’ll have to introduce me sometime so that I can have a friend who won’t be constantly busy with his boyfriend and/or brand new dragon!’’ Charles giggled softly at Pierre’s words and just smiled brightly. ‘’She’s sooooo sweet though. I’m 100% sure that she’d instantly fall in love with you because you’re so amazing.’’ He told his best friend.

They had some more wine then, and it was soon after, before Pierre could continue asking about Ziara, that Charles had yet another realization. ‘’Oh! How is the investigation going? Did you figure out who’s trying to kill us yet?’’ He asked curiously. He was about 3 large glasses of wine in at that point, so he wasn’t entirely sober anymore, but he was still very curious. Pierre sighed deeply at the subject, shaking his head. ‘’It’s difficult. I figured out that they weren’t bandits, but hired mercenaries disguised to look like bandits for the attack, but…there are so many intermediates that it’s becoming very difficult to figure out who ultimately hired them though. But I’ll figure it out. I promise you!’’ Pierre reassured his best friend.

They spent the rest of the evening getting drunker and drunker as they talked about increasingly more non-sensical subjects, until finally they were both half-asleep. Charles tried precisely once to get up and walk towards the door, before he decided that there was no way this was going to happen tonight. ‘’I’m sleeping here tonight. Cause I missed you.’’ He informed Pierre, before he unceremoniously crawled into the Lord’s large bed, sighing happily at the feeling of warmth and comfort around himself.

He had not even bothered undressing any further than taking his tunic off, and neither had Pierre as he joined Charles in bed. He cuddled close to his best friend, sighing happily as they fell asleep together in bed, just like they had done hundreds of times as children. It was morning again when the door opened, and someone walked in, who proceeded to open the curtains and let in the sunlight. 

Both Charles and Pierre groaned simultaneously, both of them having absolutely pounding headaches as they slowly opened their eyes. They heard a long, deep sigh, and finally the bed dipped as Max sat down next to Charles, reaching out to gently brush through his hair with his fingers. ‘’Charles, love….While I am really happy for you that you have apparently made up again with your best friend, we were supposed to leave about half an hour ago…’’ He told Charles, sighing again when the Prince just groaned again, before rolling over and nuzzling his face into Max’s leg instead. ‘’Don’t wanna…my head hurts…’’ He mumbled.

‘’Okay, babe. Here’s what’s going to happen.’’ Max said as he gently grabbed a hold of his boyfriend and moved him around until Charles was sitting on his lap. ‘’You’re going to put your shirt back on, we’re going to go back to your rooms and have you get dressed and put some food in you, before we get on the road. We have a schedule to follow after all.’’ He told the Prince, who groaned again. ‘’Can’t we just stay here a little longer?’’ He asked, opening his eyes to give Max’s best puppy eyes and pout.

It was incredibly hard to resist, but it wasn’t the first time that Charles flashed those at him. ‘’I’m sorry, Charles. The entire journey will be a mess if we don’t follow the schedule. The road from here to Skoedal is very unforgiving.’’ He squeezed Charles’ hand a little as he took a hold of it and gently pushed his boyfriend to get up. ‘’Come on. You can say goodbye to Pierre after you have some food in you.’’ Once Charles was finally on his feet, Max smiled, getting up and helping him back into his tunic. ‘’We’ll leave in less than an hour, Pierre. You should get up too if you want to say goodbye.’’ Max told the Lord, before they left Pierre’s chambers and returned to Charles’.

Max made sure that Charles’ was ready for the next leg of the journey. He got some food in the young Prince and ordered him to drink a lot of tea, rehydrating to help get rid of at least some of the headache. Charles was being very whiny through it all, and so when Charles had finally been dressed and the last of the servants had left the room, Max pulled his boyfriend in to kiss him deeply. ‘’Will you stop being such a baby?’’ He asked him quietly as he pulled away from the kiss and put his hands on Charles’ cheeks. ‘’If you’re a big boy in the evening you have to be a big boy in the morning. It’s not our fault you overindulged on the wine, love. So don’t be so grumpy with everyone.’’

Max’s words made Charles sigh deeply, and he probably would’ve said something angry and annoyed if Max hadn’t kissed him so deliciously first. ‘’Fine…’’ He said, grumbling a little more before he suddenly broke into a smile. ‘’I made up with Pierre.’’ He told his boyfriend, and Max chuckled softly. ‘’I saw, love. You were all tangled up in each other when I walked in. If I didn’t resent Pierre a little for punching me I would’ve thought it was cute.’’ He said and winked, before turning away to go to the door and walk them downstairs. ‘’Oh, and I told you so.’’ He added with a smirk, before he led the way down to the courtyard.

Pierre was waiting there with the rest of his family, and Charles immediately hugged his best friend tightly to say goodbye. ‘’When we come back, will you come with us to the palace? You need to come for Lorenzo’s ball anyway.’’ He asked the Lord, who nodded right away. ‘’Of course, Charles. You couldn’t keep me away if you tried.’’ He said and chuckled softly. Charles said his formal goodbyes then to Pierre’s parents, while Max rode up next to Pierre, looking down at the man before giving him a nod. ‘’Pierre.’’

‘’Max.’’ Pierre greeted in return, giving him a nod back. They weren’t likely to become the best of friends soon, but at least they weren’t enemies. 

When Charles was done, he mounted his own horse, taking a deep breath and sending Pierre a final smile, before he turned and rode out of the gate, on the way to Skoedal once again.


	21. Home Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again!
> 
> Finally heading to Max's home. How will the reunion between Max and his family be? Find out below and let me know what you think! :D

Charles did not like being on the road at all. Every day they travelled, the places they stayed in became worse, until finally, They had to sleep in tents on the roadside. Charles was finally thankful then for the overly large force that he was forced by Lorenzo to travel with, given that they had more manpower to set up the tents every day. Overall, he still would’ve been fine with the travelling, if it hadn’t been for the cold. Oh, the cold. Every day that they travelled North, up into the mountains, it got colder. Charles made sure to curl up in Max’s arms every night, using his body heat as best as he possibly could, but even that nearly couldn’t cut it. He just wasn’t made for the cold, never had been.

The only thing that he did love was when he woke up on the morning of their ninth day of travel. After Charles got dressed for the day, with about 5 layers of heavy clothing and all of the furs he could find to withstand the biting cold of the mountain roads, he had the shock of his life. When he walked out of his tent, the entire world around them was covered in a sheet of white, and it was the most beautiful thing that the Prince had ever seen. ‘’I…wow…snow…’’ He said quietly, hearing Max chuckle beside him. ‘’Yes, Charles. That is indeed snow.’’

Max frowned a little then, and looked over at his boyfriend. ‘’Wait…have you never seen snow before?’’ He asked, genuinely shocked by this development. Living in the cold and snow was his life, it was so weird that Charles had never experienced anything like it before. ‘’When do you think we ever have snow down in Hyla?’’ Charles asked his boyfriend, rolling his eyes a little, before he crouched down to touch the stuff. ‘’Ooohhh, that’s cold. I don’t like it.’’ He told Max with a bit of a pout, before he quickly got onto his horse, wanting to get through this stuff as quickly as possible.

The weather wasn’t great through the rest of the journey, causing them to make less time than was ideal. They travelled another 10 days before they finally reached the fortress of Oyoria, in the heart of Skoedal. Max’s family home wasn’t located in a city, like Pierre’s or Charles’ were. Instead, Oyoria had been built on a mountain overlooking the city. The way that it was built meant that there was only a single, difficult road up to the fortress, making it nearly unconquerable…unless you had a dragon that could just fly in.

The fortress itself looked incredibly imposing. It was built almost entirely of a deep black sort of stone, which immediately gave Charles the chills as he looked at it. It had high watchtowers on all sides with roaring fires burning at the top that almost seemed threatening in the distance. The main keep fortress itself was round, located behind the main wall that circled it, with incredibly thick looking walls of its own, to keep in the heat from the fires, as Max explained as they rode up to it. 

As they rode past the final gate on the approach, Charles could hear his boyfriend sighing deeply right next to him. ‘’Home sweet home…’’ He said quietly, swallowing audibly. He looked as nervous as Charles had when riding into Turon, and Charles really couldn’t blame him. As they finally entered the thick, high walls of the fortress, the wind fell away, and Charles instantly felt a little better. It was still cold, but he wasn’t constantly battered with the winds and snow anymore.

He could see what he presumed was Max’s family waiting outside. They wore thick furs, all coloured in a deep, dark blue, the colour of House Verstappen. Behind them was a long line of what to Charles looked to be servants, who did not have the luxury of thick, expensive furs and seemed to be withering away in the cold. As they rode in and Charles dismounted his horse, they all bowed. Normally a Royal visit would warrant everyone kneeling, but since that was only done for the King and Charles was only a Prince, he had to do with the bowing.

‘’Rise, please.’’ He told everyone, before he finally forced a smile as he looked at his Lordship, who spoke up as he looked back up. ‘’Your Highness. We are honoured by your visit to Skoedal and we welcome you to Oyoria. Allow me to introduce my wife, Lady Sophie Verstappen and my daughter, Lady Victoria Verstappen.’’ Both women curtsied to the Young Prince again, before greeting him with a ‘’Your Highness.’’

Charles took a deep breath, nodding at both women before he answered Max’s father. ‘’Thank you, my Lord. I feel honoured to have been welcomed into your home in this manner and I cannot wait to see more of your beautiful and imposing Oyoria and the city of Anceron.’’ He replied, before he glanced back to Max, who was still seated on his horse, given that he wasn’t part of the official welcome. He had seen both Sophie and Victoria anxiously look over at him, clearly excited to go and greet him, while Jos hadn’t so much as glanced at his son and heir.

‘’Shall we quickly go inside then?’’ The Prince proposed. ‘’It has been a very long journey and I feel practically frozen.’’ He joked, earning himself a laugh from the women. ‘’We’ll get you something warm to drink, Your Highness. You’ll feel like yourself again in no time.’’ Sophie promised him. ‘’That sounds lovely, my Lady. Thank you.’’ Charles told her with a bright smile, before he turned to his boyfriend. ‘’Max, will you please join us?’’ He asked the knight, who gave Charles a nod.

‘’Of course, Your Highness. I would be delighted.’’ Max said politely, dismounting his horse and handing her off to one of the other Crownsguard, before he joined the Prince and walked inside by his side, with the rest of his family following. As soon as they walked inside, the heat was almost overwhelming. It made Charles sigh happily, and he rubbed his hands together a little to warm up faster. 

Behind him, Victoria was already hugging her brother tightly, as Max chuckled and hugged her back. ‘’I missed you too, sis’.’’ He told her quietly. They were almost instantly noticed by their father, who did not seem amused in the slightest. ‘’Victoria!’’ He said, the threatening tone in his voice making the young woman immediately let go of her brother. ‘’You will behave in a manner that is worthy of your station, understood?’’ He spat, with Victoria nodding as she bowed her head. ‘’Of course, my Lord. My apologies.’’ She said quietly. ‘’Showing such a lack of manners in front of His Highness, unbelievable.’’ He grumbled to her, and the young woman followed them again with her head bowed.

Charles looked at the scene with a bit of a frown. He could see how happy the hug had made both Victoria and Max, and it was quite clear how much Sophie wanted to do the same, almost shadowing her son as they walked through the fortress. Charles really wasn’t sure if Jos wasn’t allowing this because he was there, or because he just hated Max, but it was disturbing either way. Still, he was here on a diplomatic mission to strengthen the bonds between the capital and Skoedal, so insulting the Lord not five minutes after arriving was something that Charles decided against doing.

They all sat down in the fortress’ drawing room, where they were served some tea to warm up again. They had some small talk as they sat there, mostly about the journey, and Charles could see why Max missed his mother and sister so much. They were incredibly nice people. Afterwards, Charles excused himself, wanting to freshen up in whatever rooms they had prepared for him, and both Ladies volunteered to take him there, giving him a bit of a tour of the fortress on the way. As they prepared to leave, Jos cleared his throat. ‘’Max. I would like to speak with you.’’ He framed it as a request, but his tone was very clear, there was no denying this. 

Charles could see as Max deflated a little, clearly not comfortable being left alone with his father, but it didn’t seem like he had a choice. The Prince let himself be guided out by the Ladies, sending his love a final concerned glance before the door finally fell closed between them and Max was left alone with the man who had caused him so much pain.

‘’I see you’re finally speaking to me.’’ Max noted, which immediately earned him a glare from his father. ‘’Do you really think that I would just acknowledge my son as a…a servant?’’ Even saying the word seemed to disgust Jos, and the man had to take a moment before he continued. ‘’I hope that part of the reason why you have returned is so that you can remain here, where you belong, and tell that little Prince to find himself a new servant to die for him.’’ He told his son, narrowing his eyes a little as Max huffed.

‘’There is absolutely no thought in my mind of relinquishing my duty to His Highness.’’ Max told his father in return. ‘’I am the captain of his Crownsguard. That is no servitude, it is an honour, usually only provided to the people from our House. I protect him with my life. I was willing to die for him when we were attacked on the road and if the need arises, I will do so again. I will not fail His Highness because you don’t like it.’’ He told his father, who angrily got up and threw the cup he was holding against the wall, where it shattered and clattered onto the cold, hard floor.

‘’How dare you disobey me,?!’’ He demanded. ‘’I am your father, your Lord. Everything I do, EVERYTHING, I do for you. For our House. And you, with every action that you take, seem intent on throwing it all away.’’ His breaths shook with anger as Jos stared his son down. ‘’You think the Leclercs are your friends, but they are not. They are using you. To get to me. To us. To further control this land that should be ours by right.’’ Jos only seemed more furious with every word he uttered, and Max was starting to worry about what exactly he was going to do.

‘’That boy that you insist on calling Prince cannot even handle a little cold. He might one day be proclaimed the ruler of this land, and he cannot even bear some snow. His weakness disgusts me. He looks like he can barely carry a sword, let alone fight with it.’’ Jos seemed like he wasn’t even close to done yet, like there were many more things he wanted to say about Charles, but Max was done. He had reached his breaking point. Nobody dared call Charles weak. Not after all that his boyfriend had been through. Not in front of him.

‘’ENOUGH.’’ He finally yelled as he got up and looked his father in the eye. ‘’Enough. I will not hear of this. I will not sit here while you disrespect my station, and disrespect His Highness.’’ Max found his hands trembling after he finished talking, and he almost started to panic as he realized what he had just done. He had never spoken up against his father. Ever. He had always been way, way too scared to even think about it. But now…now that Charles was concerned, it almost happened on instinct.

It had all happened in a split second, and now that he was at this point, Max knew that there was no way back. He looked at his father, who suddenly seemed to almost boil over with rage, and did the only thing that he figured he could do. He ran. He stormed out of the room, suddenly feeling ten years younger again, running away from his father after breaking some expensive item and fearing the beating that was coming. He ran as hard and fast as he could, to the only place that he knew he would find peace.

Every High Lord of Astral, of which House Verstappen clearly was one, had Royal guest chambers for if and when the King would come to stay. Obviously, Charles would be put up in those. Knowing the fortress like the back of his hand, Max rushed over. As he neared it, he could hear his mother and sister talking to one another as they headed off in the other direction. Normally, he would’ve turned to them to feel better, but there really was only one person in the world that he wanted to see now.

He had to put up some sort of face when he approached the rooms, as two Crownsguard stood guard, but they immediately let him in without any questions asked. As they closed the door behind him, Charles came walking back into the sitting room. He had walked off to explore a little and change, and so he was half out of his riding clothes as he saw Max, a big fire going in the fireplace to warm the room up.

‘’Maxy…?’’ He asked, the frown on Charles’ face deepening as he saw his boyfriend’s terrified expression. As soon as Charles came close, Max threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly and taking short, shallow breaths as he trembled. ‘’Shhhhh, shhhh.’’ The young Prince said quietly as he hugged his boyfriend back. He could very well recognize a panic attack when he saw one, and he took Max along to the sofa, where he laid them down together and gently started to play with his boyfriend’s hair.

‘’Hey, look at me.’’ Charles said quietly, giving Max a loving smile. ‘’It’s okay. I’m here now.’’ He added, placing a kiss on Max’s forehead before he started to breathe slowly and loudly. ‘’Just focus on my breathing. Nothing else. And keep looking at me.’’ He ordered his boyfriend, who did exactly as Charles asked of him. It took a few minutes, but finally Max calmed down enough to come back to himself a little again. He was still trembling, and the Prince held his hands as they laid there together.

‘’He…He was saying such bad things about you and…and I just…I had to say something…I…I’ve never said anything, Charles. Not even when…when…’’ Max’s eyes immediately started to fill with tears as he remembered the events from four years earlier. As he remembered the night that his boyfriend was tortured to death by his father, and he just started to cry. ‘’I was so scared, Charles.’’ He managed to whisper through the tears.

‘’I know, Maxy. I know.’’ Charles said quietly. He held his boyfriend as tightly as he possibly could, letting him cry into him for a little while, just to get all of the emotions out. ‘’I don’t want to be here.’’ Max finally said quietly. ‘’I never want to be here ever again. I…it’s so nice to see mom, to see Victoria, but…I hate this place.’’ He told the Prince. ‘’And I’m so sorry that I’m dragging you into all of this…’’ He added.

Charles immediately frowned at Max’s words and shook his head, reaching out to gently wipe the tears away from his boyfriend’s cheeks. ‘’Hey…don’t you say things like that. I love you. Your problems are my problems.’’ He gave Max a loving smile then, leaning in to place a soft kiss on his lips. ‘’Just make sure you stay close to me from now on. Your father won’t dare to say anything when I’m around and if he wants to speak to you alone I’ll just make an excuse for why I need you.’’ He told Max.

‘’I am not going to let anything happen to you, Maxy. I promise.’’


	22. Stables

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!  
> Writing this took me about 3.5x longer than normal and uploading nearly cost me my sanity, BUT WE DID IT EVERYONE!
> 
> Anyway, this chapter features anger, tears, and the introduction of what I hope will be a fan favourite new character! 
> 
> Enjoy and let me know what you think! <3

After Max’s panic attack, Charles insisted that they stay in his room until dinner time. It allowed for the Prince to keep an eye on his boyfriend, and Max really did not have the strength or the will to argue against it. He was just happy that he had his boyfriend to cuddle. Charles was a source of strength, of love. A true light in the darkness that now was his family home. 

They ended up moving to the bed after a little while, where a still very concerned Charles continued to give Max little kisses, squeezes of his hand, gentle touches on his arm, just a little reminder every so often that he was there for the man, and that he was going to take care of him no matter what. ‘’I wish we could just go home.’’ Max finally whispered, his head on Charles’ shoulder as he laid curled up against the Prince’s side.

‘’I know, Maxy.’’ Charles replied quietly. He couldn’t help but notice that Max was referring to Hyla as ‘home’ now, and it made Charles smile a little. He worried a lot about whether his boyfriend was really able to fit in back at the palace, whether it truly felt to him like he belonged there, but apparently he had nothing to worry about. ‘’I love you, Maxy.’’ He found himself saying, just wanting to express how much it meant to him to hear that.

Max turned his head upwards a little then, giving Charles a small smile as he leaned up and kissed the Prince gently. ‘’I love you too, Charles. More than anything.’’ He told his boyfriend, taking a long, deep breath afterwards to steady himself. He was just an absolutely mess of emotions at the moment, and Charles telling him that he loved him was almost enough to send him into tears again.

Max slowly sat up then, groaning a little as he stretched his neck a little and sighed. ‘’Do you have something to drink in here? Because I don’t think I can face my father again fully sober…’’ He told Charles, who sighed in return. ‘’Are you sure that you have to come to dinner with me, Maxy? I can just as well handle your family on my own. I’m a big boy, you know that. If I can handle a dragon, I can surely handle your family.’’

Charles’ words made Max sigh, and the knight leaned back over to kiss his boyfriend. ‘’Whether or not you can handle them isn’t the point, Charles. I know that you can, because you’re absolutely amazing. The point is that I need to be there. I need to act like the heir while we’re here instead of the Knight Commander of your guard.’’ He let his forehead rest against Charles’ then, sighing softly again.

‘’The tone in my father’s voice when he called me a servant…He won’t let it go if I don’t act like his son while we’re here, and I won’t forgive myself if my mom and my sister have to deal with his rage because of me.’’ Max said quietly. ‘’So I’ll be there. I can handle it if you’re there with me.’’ He assured his boyfriend, opening his eyes again so he could look into Charles’ eyes and smile at him. ‘’And if you promise me to cheer me up afterwards.’’ 

Charles chuckled at Max’s words and was very pleased to see that his boyfriend was pretty much back to his normal self. ‘’Of course I will, Maxy.’’ He said happily. ‘’I don’t know if we’ll be able to spend the night together, but surely you’ll be able to come back to my room for some fun before you have to go.’’ He told the man, who hummed softly, before he pulled away. 

‘’Shall we go downstairs? We ought to show up a little before dinner if we don’t want to make a bad impression.’’ Max told his boyfriend, who nodded and took the knight’s hand to be helped up from the bed. ‘’We’ll have to go at some point, might as well be now.’’ Charles agreed.

Once the Prince had gotten up from the bed, he wrapped his arms back around Max’s neck, giving him a last, long kiss. ‘’Whenever you feel agitated at dinner, just think of that.’’ He said quietly as he pulled away again. ‘’And what you’re going to get in addition to that later tonight.’’ He added with a wink, before he started to walk out of the room.

Max followed soon enough, and together with two of Charles’ Crownsguard, they made their way back downstairs to the drawing room of the fortress, where Victoria and Sophie were already waiting for their dinner to be served. ‘’Your Highness.’’ The both greeted as Charles entered the room, getting up to give him a quick bow. 

‘’My Ladies.’’ Charles greeted back with a bright smile, before he finally turned his head to look at Max. ‘’Go on then. Go give your mom and your sister a hug already.’’ Jos hadn’t arrived yet, and so there wouldn’t be anyone to bother them if Max wanted to give his mom and sister a freaking hug. Max did not need to be told again. After quickly looking around for his father, he ran over to his mother, giving her the tightest hug he could manage without hurting her.

‘’My sweet boy…’’ Sophie said quietly as she hugged him back. ‘’I missed you so much, I’m so pleased to see that you didn’t get hurt badly in that horrible attack.’’ She told Max, who nodded softly. ‘’I missed you too, mom.’’ He said quietly. The hug seemed to go on forever, and to not feel too awkward about being there, Charles walked to a servant, asking him for some wine while they waited. He was quickly obliged, sipping his wine as Max had moved on to hug his sister while Sophie smiled in his direction.

Charles smiled back when he noticed, walking over to sit down in the chair next to hers. ‘’If anything, that reunion alone was worth this trip.’’ He told her, and Sophie only seemed to smile wider as she glanced at her son. ‘’I agree. It’s hard not having him around anymore. But I guess that’s just part of having your children grow up.’’ 

They talked for a little longer, mostly about what Max was like as a child, because that was a topic that Charles was extremely interested in, before Jos finally entered the room, followed by a servant who announced that dinner was ready to be served. Apparently they had waited for Lord Verstappen to join them before serving the food.

They all filed into the dining room then, albeit with a very different atmosphere than earlier in the drawing room. It was quiet, like nobody really dared say anything in fear of angering Jos. They were about halfway through the first course before Lord Verstappen finally spoke up, looking over at Charles.

‘’Your Highness.’’ He said to get Charles’ attention. ‘’You were in the attack on the Royal Party returning from Turon, were you not?’’ He asked the Prince, who swallowed his bite before he nodded. ‘’I was, yes. As was Max, in fact. He saved my life that day by getting us out of there.’’ He told Jos with a proud smile.

Jos only hummed in return for a moment, sending his son a glance. ‘’Why did you leave?’’ He asked, making Charles frown a little in confusion. ‘’What do you mean…?’’ The Prince asked. ‘’We were under attack, of course we left…’’ He told Jos, who huffed a little in return as he sipped from his drink. ‘’You are sworn to the King, are you not? Who nearly died in that attack. It is my understanding that true soldiers, true knights, they would rather die than abandon their King in such a battle.’’

Charles’ frown fell away a little as he realized what was happening, and he just stared at the Lord in disbelief for a moment. That was, until he steeled himself and hardened his look as he stared at Jos. He could feel Max staring at him from the side, but he wasn’t about to back away from this. ‘’My Crownsguard are not sworn to the King. They are sworn to me. Your son took an arrow for me. He saved my life multiple times in that battle and got me out of there without a scratch on me. He is an absolute hero.’’

Jos once again hummed in return to Charles. ‘’But you are not, are you? Sworn to yourself, that is. You have been trained as a knight, right? Why didn’t you protect your brother?’’ Charles was seated next to his boyfriend, and it was a good thing that he was. He could see that Max was about to react, to say something, to probably escalate things a lot, and he only stopped himself when Charles squeezed his leg under the table.

‘’Lord Verstappen, I think you misunderstand the situation.’’ Charles said, laughing a little and really putting on his very best act. ‘’You see, at the time it really didn’t matter what I wanted to do. If it had been up to me, I would’ve indeed stayed and fought for my brother. But like I said, my Crownsguard are sworn to keep me safe. That is what they did. They got me out of there as fast as they could, your son in particular. While risking their lives for me, I might add.’’ He smiled at the man, defusing his argument.

Charles continued to speak with Jos after that, a conversation that continued to focus mostly on Lorenzo. The Lord wanted to know how his brother was doing, how bad his injuries had been and currently still were, that sort of thing. All the while, Charles could sense that Max was still boiling with rage right next to him, and he held the man’s hand whenever he could to try and reassure him a little.

When they had finally finished dinner, both Max and Charles quickly excused themselves, citing the long journey as a reason for why they wanted to turn in early. It was accepted as a reason, of course, and the two quickly left the room to return to the hallway, so they could go upstairs. That was, until Max started to linger a little once they got there..

‘’Charles, do you mind if I go out for a little while before I join you upstairs? I really need to clear my head a little and the cold and wind always used to help with that.’’ Max explained. Charles immediately nodded at his boyfriend, smiling at Max as he looked down into his eyes from the first step of the stairs. ‘’I’ll see you in a little while then. Don’t catch yourself a cold out there or do anything stupid!’’ He said as he continued the walk back to his chambers. 

‘’I’ll see you soon.’’ Max replied to Charles, giving him a final smile before he turned back around. He got all of his furs back on, finally stepping into the dark, freezing Skoedal night, with the heavy doors of the fortress falling loudly shut behind him. He started wandering around the grounds then, letting his feet take him around without really having any destination in mind. When he finally stopped walking and looked up again, he realized just where had he subconsciously taken himself. The stables. ‘’Oh…’’ Max said quietly.

He found himself just standing there, having some difficulty breathing as memories of him and Jonathan came flooding back into his mind. He found that it was almost too much to bear, too much to handle, but he knew that the only way that he would be able to deal with his demons was by facing them.

And so it was that he took a very deep breath, clinging on to the sharp pain in his lungs that the freezing air gave him almost as a lifeline, before he set a step forwards. And another. And another. Until he finally walked into the stables. The same stables that he had visited to see his old boyfriend so many times before. He found himself tearing up a little as he let his hand run over wooden beams inside. He could almost hear Jon’s laughter, his excitement after Max came to see him again, his giggling after the Lord had snuck him a few quick kisses. He realized then that he really missed Jon more than he had even allowed himself to feel.

There were a number of horses in the stables, but Max finally walked to his own box, where the horse he had had for years and had taken with him to Hyla was currently resting. ‘’Hiya, old girl.’’ He said quietly, reaching out to gently pet his Bella. She was really the only connection that he had left to Jonathan. The stableboy had practically raised her for Max, and he loved her all the more for it.

‘’Max?’’ He suddenly heard a voice out of the darkness. The mention of his name tore Max away from his own spiralling thoughts, and after he had wiped the tears from his eyes, his gaze shot in the direction that the voice had come from. It didn’t take long for Max to recognize who it was when the man walked into the light from the torches. It was a short guy, curly hair, covered in a thick layer of clothing and smiling brightly after having seen his old friend. ‘’Lando!’’ Max replied instantly, walking over to take his friend into a big hug. ‘’Gods, it’s been…it’s been too long.’’ He told the stableboy as he hugged him tightly.

‘’I agree.’’ Lando said instantly, still smiling brightly as he pulled away from the hug. He sighed softly then, his smile fading into more a sad one as he looked at his old friend. ‘’You still miss him, don’t you?’’ He asked quietly, leaning a little against a wooden beam. ‘’You looked like you were thinking of good memories, but feeling very sad about them.’’

As Lando spoke, Max just looked at him in complete disbelief. ‘’W-who are you talking about…?’’ He asked quietly. Deep down, he knew that Lando knew. It was obvious. But still, his first instinct was to try and talk himself out of this. 

‘’Please, don’t do this, Max. I know. I know about you and Jon. I know everything.’’ Lando told the knight, who took a few steps backwards until he was standing against the wall. ‘’Lando…please…’’ He begged. ‘’Don’t…don’t tell anyone…’’ As Max spoke, it was now Lando’s turn to look confused. ‘’What? No, of course not. Max, I’ve known for more than four years, I’m not about to tell anyone now.’’

Max swallowed nervously then, still staring at Lando like he had seen a ghost. ‘’How did you know…?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Did…did Jon tell you..?’’ He added, his voice breaking a little as he asked. Lando was quick to shake his head. ‘’No, he didn’t. But…we worked in the same job, Max. I’m not an idiot. You came to see him a LOT. And he was just so happy every time that he even mentioned you. I…it took me a while, but it was obvious when I finally saw it. So I confronted him. He took it much like you are, to be honest…’’

Lando sighed deeply then, seemingly struggling a little to continue. ‘’It was only a few days later that he…disappeared. I-I genuinely thought that he told you that I knew and that you just never wanted to talk about it. Otherwise I would’ve been a little more tactful…’’ He sighed again then, shaking his head. ‘’I’m not going to tell anyone, Max. I can promise you that because…I am the same as you are.’’

The fear faded from Max’s eyes a little after those last words, and he just looked at Lando for a moment. ‘’Oh…’’ He said quietly. ‘’That’s…oh, wow…I had no idea.’’ He told his friend, who smiled sadly. ‘’Yeah…’’ He said quietly. ‘’It was such a relief to know that you, the heir to all of this, were the same as me and then…and then you left. It’s been hard without you here, Max…You were always very good to me.’’

Lando seemed like he wanted to keep talking, but Max had already taken him into a hug before he could. ‘’I’m sorry.’’ He said quietly. ‘’If I had known I…I would’ve taken you along to take care of Bella. I…I am going to.’’ He assured his friend, giving him a smile as he pulled away. ‘’You’ll come with me, right?’’ He asked Lando, who seemed a little taken aback by all of this.

‘’Do you…you really want me to come with you to Hyla? To the capital? To the palace?’’ Lando asked, looking at his friend with wide eyes as Max nodded enthusiastically. ‘’Lando, you…you have no idea how good it feels to know that there is someone that knows what I’ve been through. Someone that I can trust…I-I want you with me. Please.’’

‘’Then…yeah, of course I’ll come.’’ Lando said, hugging Max tightly again, before he pulled away with a bit of a frown. ‘’Is your Prince going to allow that though…I mean…I’ve heard things about him, so I don’t know if he’ll be okay with it…’’

Lando’s words made Max frown a little, and he hummed in return. ‘’What kind of things have you heard?’’ He asked curiously. He knew that talk about the capital generally wasn’t too positive up here, had grown up with that sort of talk around him, but if they were specifically targeting Charles, that was something that Max needed to do something about.

‘’Things like that he’s very stuck up, arrogant, doesn’t care about anyone outside of his own palace. That kind of stuff.’’ Lando said and shrugged a little. ‘’Must not be fun being around him all the time then, right?’’ Max’s frown only deepened at Lando spoke, and he was quick to shake his head. 

‘’Absolutely none of that is true! Charles is the kindest soul that I’ve ever met. He is compassionate, he truly cares about other people and…you know what. You’re gonna come up with me to meet him.’’ Max decided. ‘’We’re gonna get all of this settled right fucking now.’’ Lando was giving him a look that very much said that he doubted what Max was saying, so the knight decided that it would be better to prove himself. It made Lando laugh though.

‘’Are you serious? Max, I’m a stableboy. I don’t meet with the Crown Prince, that’s absolute madness!’’ Lando told his friend, who sighed a little in frustration. ‘’I am the heir to the entirety of Skoedal and you have been one of my best friends for years. Charles is only one step up from that. Now stop being like this and come and meet him already.’’

Lando was still chuckling a little, but shrugged nonetheless. ‘’Fine. But I don’t really understand why you want me to meet him so bad. He’s just your boss, it’s not like I’m meeting your boyfriend.’’ He told Max, who thankfully had walked off a little already, or Lando would have been able to see him blush. They walked back inside together, and though they got a few weird looks, there wasn’t a single guard who gave Max any trouble at all, given his station.

They finally ended up back at Charles’ rooms, where Max knocked twice on the door before just walking in. Charles wasn’t in the bedroom, but Max could hear him in the room next to it, and given that the door was open, he just decided to announce the both of them.

‘’Your Highness, I’m back. And I brought one of my old friends for you to meet.’’ Max called out. As he did, Lando was already kneeling, bowing his head low in the direction that he could hear footsteps coming from. ‘’Your Highness.’’ He greeted, finally looking up to see Charles after greeting him. When he did, his eyes went wide.

Charles had changed out of his dinner clothes and was now just wearing gorgeous, silk pyjamas in the scarlet red colour of House Leclerc. His previously styled up hair was now down without any product in it, making him look even more soft and cuddly than he already was in his pyjamas. ‘’W-wow…’’ The stableboy just stammered as he stared at the Crown Prince. ‘’You’re…beautiful.’’


	23. Demons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, who dis?
> 
> I really enjoyed this one. The Landoness, the cuteness, the absolute horror that is Max's mind when he's at home. It's all very intense.
> 
> Love you all, hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! <3

‘’You’re…beautiful.’’ Lando managed to croak out as he stared up at the Prince, sending Charles into immediate giggles. The Prince blushed a little, not used to this sort of flattery from people who he had barely met. Especially not when he was in his pyjamas.

‘’Hello.’’ Charles finally said, smiling down politely at this stranger in his bedroom. He had fully expected Max to come and join him in his bedroom for some making out, maybe some sex, but this was more than a little weird. He turned to his boyfriend then, raising an eyebrow. ‘’Max, might I ask exactly why you have brought a stranger into my bedroom when I was about to go to bed?’’

Max cleared his throat then, looking a little awkward as he realized this might not have been the very best of ideas. ‘’Well…So this is Lando. He’s one of my best friends from when I still lived up here. He’s a stableboy here and we got talking and well…people have a bit of a wrong idea about you so I wanted him to come up and meet you.’’

The first thing that Charles immediately caught onto was the fact that Lando was a stableboy there. That sounded very similar to someone else important in Max’s life… He then laughed off the rest of his words, smiling down at Lando. ‘’Please, get up.’’ He told the stableboy, before he looked back to his boyfriend. ‘’And you decided then that the very best time for Lando to meet with me was when I was in my pyjamas?’’ He asked curiously, an amused smile on his face as Max blushed a little.

It was obvious what happened, at least to Charles. Clearly Max had run into Lando, memories of Jonathan were a bit overwhelming, and so when Lando then starting badmouthing him, the knight decided that his friend needed to have a positive view of his current boyfriend, too. Ergo, he was brought up to meet with him.

When Max ended up just looking a little sheepish, not really knowing how to answer Charles, the Prince decided that he would take the lead on this. ‘’So Lando, how long have you known Max?’’ He asked curiously, gesturing to the lounge area so they could sit down together. The stableboy was quick to walked after the Prince, and he sat down across from him. ‘’Uhm, I think it’s about ten years or so now. When I started working here.’’ He explained to Charles with a smile.

‘’Max was one of the only people that didn’t ignore me because I was just a lowly stableboy and really we’ve been best friends ever since.’’ Lando said, chuckling a little as he looked over at his friend. ‘’That’s why I’m really grateful that he wants to take me back to the capital.’’ He added, making Charles frown a little. The Prince turned his gaze to Max then, raising an eyebrow. ‘’You what now?’’ He asked his boyfriend directly, which seemed to bring him to life again.

Max cleared his throat, biting his lip for a moment, before he walked over and sat down across from Charles, next to Lando. ‘’So…you know how much trouble I’ve had up here, being…gay. Well, it turns out that Lando is going through the same thing. And…he’s my friend, Charles. I can’t just leave him up here when everyone around would want him dead if he was ever to really be himself.’’ He explained.

As Max spoke, Lando’s eyes widened to the point that they seemed almost comically large as he stared at Max. ‘’You told him?’’ He asked, his mouth dropping open a little. ‘’But he’s…he’s…’’ Max interrupted Lando then, shaking his head. ‘’He’s fine with it, Lando. More than fine, really. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Like I said, Charles is the kindest, most amazing man that I’ve ever met. I have entrusted him with my biggest secret, and I’d do so again in a heartbeat.’’ He told his friend.

Max considered for a moment to come fully clean and tell Lando about his relationship with Charles, but decided against it. At least for the time being. ‘’Wow…’’ Lando said quietly. He laughed a little awkwardly, turning back to Charles and looking a little nervous. ‘’I…I guess I’m sorry?’’ He asked more than said. ‘’I mean if Max trusts you like that then you have to be alright in my book, mate.’’ He told Charles, before he realized again who exactly he was talking to. ‘’I-I mean, Your Highness.’’ He told the Prince, immediately getting down to kneel again. ‘’I’m so sorry, Your Highness. Please forgive me.’’ He begged, making Charles laugh.

‘’Lando, it’s fine.’’ The Prince said, smiling kindly at the stableboy when he looked up again. ‘’You can’t always remember your etiquette, it happens. And I’m glad you feel comfortable enough around me to relax like that.’’ He added, before he smiled softly. ‘’And of course you are very welcome to come with us back home. I’m sure that we can easily find a place for you in the Royal stables.’’ He told Lando with a smile.

‘’Now, I don’t meant to be rude, but I’m really tired. It’s been a long journey from the capital to here.’’ He told Lando, kindly asking him to leave. The stableboy immediately jumped up, nodding and giving Charles another bow. ‘’Of course, Your Highness.’’ Max got up too, smiling over at Lando for a moment. ‘’I’ll come back after I walk Lando to his room.’’ He assured Charles, and the Prince nodded softly. ‘’See you soon, Maxy.’’ He told the knight, who ushered Lando out and started to walk him back to the servants’ quarters.

Lando sighed happily as he walked and hummed before he spoke again. ‘’Okay so he’s really nice actually.’’ He told Max with a chuckle. ‘’Totally different than the evil villain I pictured in my mind. Soooooo much prettier, too.’’ He added with a pleased sigh. ‘’Honestly, I don’t know how you can keep your hands to yourself if you’re around him all day.’’ He told Max, who looked very unamused all of a sudden. 

‘’Don’t disrespect the Prince like that, Lando. He might be alright with you forgetting your manners from time to time, but I don’t want you to speak of him in that way.’’ Max told his friend seriously, who immediately toned it down a little. ‘’I…sorry. I was just saying that he looks very good…’’ He told Max, who hummed in return. ‘’And that part was fine.’’ He told his friend.

They continued to walk to the servants’ quarters, where Max hugged his friend tightly. ‘’I’ll see you again soon, Lando. We’ll stay for probably a week or so, so get ready to leave then.’’ He added, and Lando instantly broke into a grin. ‘’I can’t wait. I imagine the capital is huge and so gorgeous.’’ He told Max, who chuckled and nodded. ‘’It is. I’ll show you around when we get there. Goodnight, mate.’’

After saying goodbye, Max returned to Charles’ chambers, smiling softly to himself as he walked back in and closed the door behind himself. He could hear Charles’ hum before he saw him sitting in bed, and he walked over to give his boyfriend a kiss. ‘’Did you bring anyone else with you this time, or is it just you?’’ Charles teased with an amused smile.

Max chuckled a little at Charles and hummed softly as he took his leather armour off. ‘’No, it’s just me this time.’’ He told his boyfriend, sighing softly as he put the armour aside and returned to the Prince. ‘’I’m sorry I just took him over here, love. But he thought you were awful and I just needed him to see how amazing you are.’’ He told his boyfriend, climbing onto the bed with a bit of a pout. 

‘’It’s okay, Maxy. Really.’’ Charles assured his boyfriend, leaning over to give him another kiss. ‘’I fully understand how you felt, don’t worry.’’ He gave the man a smile as he pulled away and patted the spot next to him. ‘’Now come and cuddle with me already. I’ve been waiting for ages.’’ He put his book away as Max got into bed next to him and cuddled in close, putting his head down on Max’s shoulder as he smiled at his boyfriend.

‘’Are you okay, Maxy?’’ Charles asked quietly. Max hummed a little in response, looking at Charles with a small frown. ‘’Of course I am, why do you ask?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Because there’d be no reason to run into Lando if you weren’t hanging out around the stables.’’ Charles told his boyfriend. ‘’I love you, Maxy. It’s okay if you were thinking about him, I’m not the jealous type. I just want to take care of you.’’ He told the knight quietly. 

As Charles finished talking, he could hear a trembling breath come out of his boyfriend. He quickly cuddled a little closer, finally closing his eyes and nuzzling into him. He knew that he didn’t have to push Max any further at this point, he just needed to provide all the support his boyfriend needed.

‘’I just started to walk the ground. I wasn’t really going anywhere, just wanted to clear my head, but…before I knew it I was at the stables.’’ Max said quietly. ‘’I felt frozen. Like I couldn’t move. My chest felt tight and it felt like my heart was just in pain.’’ He explained, his own eyes falling closed as he remembered how he felt. ‘’But I realised that the only way that I will ever be able to get over this is by facing my fears. And so I went in there.’’ He told Charles quietly.

‘’It was nice…for a moment. I remembered Jon’s smile, his laughter, but then…then it just went silent, before his laughter turned to screams.’’ Max shivered as he spoke, and Charles could hear just how close his boyfriend was to crying. ‘’I nearly lost it then. I felt like I was going insane. I think I would have if Lando hadn’t shown up and distracted me from my own thoughts.’’ He admitted, his breathing still trembling as he let out a long sigh.

He felt a small kiss on his neck soon after, and Max sighed happily as he managed to relax a little again. Charles was holding him tightly, and the gentle kisses that he got managed to get his heart rate back down to an acceptable level. ‘’I love you so much.’’ He whispered to his boyfriend. ‘’Honestly, Charles. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.’’

Charles smiled lovingly at Max’s words, sighing happily as he took his boyfriend’s hand and gently laced their fingers together. ‘’I love you too.’’ He said quietly. ‘’And likewise.’’ He added with a bit of a chuckle. ‘’You’re much better than even Ziara is. And that’s saying a lot.’’ He teased, making Max laugh a little. ‘’You’re so cute.’’ He told Charles, who hummed softly. ‘’And you’re really hot.’’ He added with a grin.

Max kissed him then, properly, and rolled them over. He started making out with the Prince as he towered over him, pulling away from time to time to just admire the man for a moment and take in just how insanely beautiful his boyfriend was. ‘’I’m not going to be able to stay the night, beautiful.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I can get away with dumb excuses on the road, but my dad knows what I am. He’ll…suspect things if I don’t sleep in my own room.’’ He told the Prince, who sighed deeply.

‘’Mentioning your dad is a great way to turn me off, Maxy.’’ The Prince complained with a pout, before he sighed deeply. ‘’Can you maybe stay until I’m asleep?’’ He suggested, giving Max his best puppy eyes. The knight, of course, gave in almost immediately and nodded. ‘’Of course I can, love. It’d be my pleasure.’’ He said and chuckled. He slowly laid back down, collecting Charles in his arms and kissing the top of his head. ‘’I’ll come back first thing in the morning.’’ He promised. ‘’It’s just a couple of hours.’’

He stayed with Charles for a little longer, watching the Prince fall asleep and enjoying his company for a little while longer. They were in love, it wasn’t creepy if he watched his boyfriend being impossibly pretty even as he slept. Max finally slipped out of bed, handling Charles very carefully and making sure he didn’t wake up, before he finally left.

He had a bad night given the events that happened, and he had nightmares about his old boyfriend throughout the entire night, being forced to kill him again, and again, and again. In the end, Max was surprised if he ended up sleeping more than 4-5 hours at the max. When he finally woke up again as the daylight entered his room, Max decided he had had enough. There was something else that he needed to do. Even bigger demons that he needed to face. But he knew he couldn’t do it alone, and he was terrified to ask.

He got up, got dressed again and returned to his boyfriend, who, when Max entered, still seemed to be fast asleep. The sight made Max smile, and he gently climbed in again behind Charles, spooning him and cuddling close without waking the Prince up. It was about half an hour later that Charles finally awoke, cuddling a little closer against Max before he realized what exactly was wrong here.

He froze for a moment, before he turned around, sleepy-eyed and with the most adorable little frown on his face. ‘’What are you doing here…?’’ The Prince mumbled, making Max chuckle softly as he leaned in and pecked Charles’ lips. ‘’Good morning to you too, gorgeous.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I was up early so I came to cuddle you good morning, like I told you.’’ He reminded his boyfriend, who sighed happily as he rolled over and nuzzled his face into the familiar warmth of Max’s chest. ‘’’Kay…’’ He mumbled, his eyes closed again as he took his sweet time to really wake up.

The rest of their day went by fairly quickly. It was filled with a visit to Anceron, the nearby capital of Skoedal. It was a good opportunity for Charles to show his face in the region, although it didn’t go exactly as planned. Usually, whenever he stepped outside back in Hyla, there’d be loads of people lining the streets, excitedly trying to catch a glimpse of the Prince. Even in Turon he was a big attraction if people knew he was there. But here…he wasn’t. People seemed to almost actively avoid the Prince, giving him constant weird looks and clearly talking about him as they turned away.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that everyone who did meet him almost instantly fell in love with the extremely charming, handsome, young Prince, Max would’ve started punching people for every glare they sent in Charles’ direction. Speaking of Max, as disliked as Charles was, so beloved was the young Lord. People all wanted to shake his hand, share a quick word with him or tell him how excited they were that such an accomplished young man was the heir to their nation. It really was all rather strange.

The only time that Max felt forced to interject in any of the conversations Charles was having was when the Prince insisted on going into a jewellery store. Gemstones were one of the few exports of Skoedal, and so the jewellery that they could make was spectacular compared to the rest of the lands. Max had often bought some for his mother or sister, and so he knew very well that Charles was being ripped off when the store owner named his price for the necklace Charles wanted to get his mom as a present.

‘’For you, Your Highness, only 650 golden dragons.’’ The man said, giving Charles a bright smile that only seemed to wide when the Prince did not argue, but simply turned to one of the accompanying servants. It was only when Max cleared his throat and glared at the man, before raising an eyebrow, that he suddenly changed his tune. ‘’D-Did I say 650, Your Highness? I misspoke. I meant of course 450 golden dragons. My sincerest apologies…’’ He said, letting out a relieved sigh when Max gave the man a nod.

All in all, the trip hadn’t been a complete failure. Practically all of the people that had actually met Charles adored him, and Max was sure that word of mouth would spread around just how good of a man the Prince from far away truly was. It would help the image of the Royals a lot, besides the fact that the Crown Prince was a guest at Fortress Oyoria for the week.

The next few days went by in a blur. Max caught up with Lando whenever he could, finding that they could talk so easily now that they had…almost no secrets anymore. Max still hadn’t told him that he was an item with Charles, but he figured it would come sooner rather than later. Probably the moment that Lando met George or something…

It was finally on their final night in Oyoria that Max finally found the nerve to ask Charles the thing that had been bothering him all week long. He had been quiet the entire evening, and the Prince had asked multiple times already what was the matter, getting a dismissive answer from his boyfriend every time. That was, until now. They were in bed together, Charles comfortably in Max’s arms as the Prince read his book on the history of Skoedal, when Max spoke up. ‘’I think I’m ready to talk about it…’’ He said quietly. 

Charles hummed in response, taking another moment before he closed his book and put it aside, moving himself around a little in Max’s embrace so he could look his boyfriend in the eye. ‘’Whenever you’re ready.’’ He said quietly. Max took a deep breath then, deciding to just get this over with now that he found the courage to talk about it.

‘’Do you remember how we talked about Jonathan the first night that we got here?’’ He asked Charles quietly, with the Prince nodding softly in affirmation. ‘’Well…I think that there is something else that I need to do.’’ Max added. Charles looked a little confused for a moment, but he didn’t say anything, just waited patiently for Max to continue and explain himself.

‘’I said that I felt like I needed to face my fears, and…’’ Max stopped then, taking a very long breath as he clearly felt very uncomfortable talking about this. ‘’I need you to do something for me.’’ He told Charles quietly. The Prince nodded instantly, still frowning slightly. ‘’Yes, of course. Anything, Maxy. Just name it and it’s done.’’ He assured his boyfriend.

Max swallowed thickly then, closing his eyes for a moment, before he was able to look down into Charles’ eyes again, saying out loud the words that had been stuck in his mind for almost a week now.

‘’I need to go down into the dungeons…to the place where I…where I killed him….and I can’t do it alone.’’


	24. Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that this was the toughtest thing that I've ever written. I full on cried at one point and my heart aches for poor Maxy :'(
> 
> Still, I love you all for sticking with me and I hope you'll appreciate the words written below <3

‘’I need to go down into the dungeons…to the place where I…where I killed him….and I can’t do it alone.’’

The smile fell completely from Charles’ face when he heard what Max’s request was, and he even went a little pale as he stared at his boyfriend. This was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. As tough as Max, there was absolutely no way that seeing a place like that again would work out the way that his boyfriend was thinking that it would. Charles had the experience. He had insisted once before on returning to the place where he had seen his father die. It only brought back terrible memories. ‘’Maxy…’’ He started, cut off immediately by his boyfriend shaking his head. 

‘’You promised me, Charles…’’ He told the young Prince, who closed his eyes and groaned for a moment, before he finally just sighed deeply. ‘’I…fine…’’ He said quietly. ‘’But I want you to know that I think this is an incredibly bad idea and I am begging you not to do this. It can’t be good Maxy, no matter what you think…’’ He added, pouting at his boyfriend as he looked up at him.

Max was just looking sad. He took in Charles’ words, but finally shook his head. ‘’I need to do this, Charles. I have to if I ever want to have closure. I want to close this chapter of my life. I never want to come back to this place, I want to be able to fully devote myself to you.’’ He said quietly. 

Charles swallowed thickly then, sighing deeply before he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. ‘’Alright…’’ He said quietly. ‘’Should we go now?’’ He asked, getting nod from Max in return. ‘’Yeah, I think that we should.’’ He said with a sad smile, stepping out of bed so that they could go downstairs. He reached out to Charles when the Prince stepped out of bed too, gently squeezing his hand as he took a deep breath. ‘’You’ll take care of me, right?’’ He asked quietly.

He got an instant nod from Charles in return, before the Prince simply threw his arms around Max’s neck and hugged him tightly. ‘’I always will.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I love you so, so much.’’ He added. Max buried his face in Charles’ neck as he was hugged, breathing his boyfriend in for a moment as he nodded. ‘’I love you too, Charles.’’ He replied to the Prince, before he pulled away. ‘’Alright…let’s go.’’

Charles took a deep breath then, walking after Max as they exited the Prince’s chambers. As they continued and walked downstairs, they were followed by Charles’ on duty Crownsguard. Once they got to the stairwell leading down into the dungeons though, Max turned around and looked at the both of them. ‘’I’ll take it from here. Stay here at the entrance, we’ll be back soon enough.’’ His tone indicated that this was an order, rather than a request, and so the knights nodded, taking station at either side of the doorway.

Max and Charles continued then, heading down into the dark stairwell, lit only by a torch every now and again on the wall. They walked through the cells lining other side of the dungeons, and Charles could see that a number of them were full, but he didn’t say anything. Max looked determined as he walked on, and he didn’t want to say anything to disturb his boyfriend’s thoughts.

They continued on even deeper then, finally stopping in front of a heavy looking, metal door at the end of a long hallway. Max started at for a moment, taking a deep breath before letting it out in the form of a trembling sigh. ‘’Behind this door is the torture chamber.’’ He told Charles quietly. ‘’It’s where he….where I…’’ His voice broke on the final word, and Charles was quick to reach out and take Max’s hand. ‘’I’m here for you, Maxy.’’ He told his boyfriend. ‘’Anything you need. Remember that.’’

Max nodded at Charles’ words, closing his eyes for a moment and taking another few deep breaths to get his emotions back under control. ‘’Okay…I’m ready.’’ He finally said. He let go of Charles’ hand then, needing both of his hands to open the large, heavy, iron door as it creaked loudly. Max grabbed a torch from the wall then, taking a final, deep breath, before he finally stepped inside.

As the flames lit up the room, chills immediately ran down Max’s back. He could see the various torture devices in the room, visions of their uses creeping up in his mind as he stood as frozen. ‘’Maxy…?’’ Charles asked quietly, walking up behind Max and putting a hand on the small of his back. The touch seemingly startled Max, and he nearly hit the Prince in the face with the torch as he turned into his direction.

‘’It’s okay. It’s just me.’’ Charles said quietly, giving Max a small, hopefully reassuring smile as he gently took the torch from him and started to walk around the room, lighting the torches so that they could actually see something. What Charles did see absolutely horrified him. There were dozens of torture devices, each one seemingly even worse than the one before it. He saw thumb screws, racks that stretched people out until they quite literally snapped, and a dozen of contraptions that Charles would have no idea how they even worked, but seemed to come right from the depths of hell itself.

It was terrifying to look at it, and even worse to realize these things had actually been used on living people to torture them. When every last torch in the room was lit, Charles looked back at Max, who was still frozen in place, staring at the ground in the centre of the room. His breathing was slow and laboured, and he seemed to panic more by the second.

‘’Max, Maxy what’s wrong?’’ Charles asked, quickly hurrying back to Max’s side to take his hand. ‘’I-I can hear him…’’ The knight said, his voice barely above a whisper at this point. Charles could see as Max’s eyes started to well up with tears, and he could feel as his boyfriend’s hand started to tremble. ‘’I can hear him screaming in pain. Begging for it to stop. Begging for the pain to end. Begging for me to…to…’’ A single tear rolled down Max’s cheek then, and he let out a sob as put his free forearm in front of his eyes, his breath trembling with emotion as he let it out.

‘’We should go.’’ Charles said quietly, but Max was quick to shake his head. ‘’No…’’ He replied. ‘’No Charles, I can’t. Please. I have to…’’ He begged. The look of desperation in Max’s eyes was unlike anything that Charles had ever seen in him, and he nodded softly. ‘’Okay, Maxy…’’ He told his boyfriend, letting him go when the knight started to slowly step forward further into the room.

Max took a few more steps, before the screams in his mind became almost too much to bear. His eyes remained constantly fixated on that one spot in the centre of the room. The spot where he, four years earlier, had cradled Jon in his arms as he…as he plunged a dagger into his heart. When he finally reached the spot and his eyes cleared up from the tears enough for a moment to actually see, Max’s eyes widened. 

The floor of the entire chamber was made up of bricks. All the same colour, until you got up close. Right there, on the exact same spot where Jonathan had bled to death in Max’s arms, the bricks on the floor had a distinct, reddened colour. Like they had been stained. By blood. As soon as the realization set in, Max felt as though he was transported back to that moment four years ago. The knight let out a pained, broken sound as his legs gave out, and he sank down to his knees onto the ground.

‘’Jon…’’ He said quietly as he stared at the stained bricks, tears blurring his sight as they fell down onto the stones one by one. ‘’I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’’ He whispered, his head slowly falling down until his forehead was resting against the stone. ‘’Please forgive me.’’ Charles could hear the man say, Max’s sobs sounding so broken, so full of pain and regret, that the Prince had to blink away his own tears.

He walked over to Max then, crouching down next to him and gently rubbing the man’s back as he looked down at him. ‘’Maxy, hey. Look at me.’’ He said quietly. When Max finally looked up, Charles had to hold himself back from gasping. Tears were streaming down his boyfriend’s face, and he looked utterly and completely broken, so much so that Charles worried if he would be able to put him back together again. 

‘’It wasn’t your fault.’’ Charles told his boyfriend quietly. ‘’There was nothing that you could have done. I have met your father, you have told me what it was like back then. Nobody could have done anything to stop this. You did the only thing that you could. You ended his suffering, because you love him.’’ It was difficult for Charles to say that. He used the present tense on purpose. Jonathan might be gone, but Max’s love for him certainly wasn’t. That much was very clear. 

Max didn’t say anything, and he was still crying as he looked at Charles, but the Prince could see the look in his eyes. He was clinging on to Charles’ words, desperately wanting to believe him, but still struggling to do so. ‘’As he died, you told each other that you loved one another. If that is not forgiveness, I don’t know what is, Maxy.’’ He shuffled closer to his boyfriend then, gently cradling his cheeks as he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to the knight’s forehead. ‘’You are the most magnificent man in the world. That’s why Jonathan loved you. That’s why I love you.’’

Max’s eyes fell closed as Charles’ lips touched his forehead, and he shook his head again. ‘’I failed him. It’s my fault that we got caught. I caused all of this.’’ He said quietly, making Charles sigh deeply. ‘’Lars was your best friend at the time, my love. You trusted him. As you should have. You couldn’t have know that he was a traitor.’’ He tried to assure Max. 

Charles helped to sat Max back up on his knees then, hugging his boyfriend tightly and holding him close in his arms. ‘’I will take care of you, I promise. And there is nothing that you can say to convince me that you did anything wrong here.’’ He whispered to Max as the man cried against him. ‘’Take all the time that you need, Maxy. Tell Jonathan what you need to tell him, then we’re going back upstairs. You’ll sleep with me tonight. I don’t care about your father, we’ll figure out an excuse. I’m not letting you sleep alone tonight after this.’’

Max was almost limp against Charles as he was held, sobbing against him as the Prince tried his best to comfort him. ‘’T-thank you…’’ He finally managed to croak out. He needed another few minutes, before he finally pulled away from the Prince, wiping the tears from his eyes as he took a few deep breaths. ‘’Could you…could you wait outside, for a moment?’’ He asked quietly. Charles didn’t object, or even say anything at all. He just nodded and placed another kiss on Max’s forehead, before he got up.

The Prince gently squeezed Max’s shoulder as he walked by, reminding the man that he would be there for him, before he left Max alone to say his final words to his old boyfriend. Max needed another minute then, taking long, deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down and tried to find the words that he wanted to say. But really, how do you say goodbye to someone that you will love forever?

‘’Jon…’’ Max finally said quietly. ‘’I know that if you were here right now, you’d say the exact same things as Charles…you’re so alike sometimes.’’ He said, letting out a little laugh before he continued. ‘’And while I hope that I can ever forgive myself for what happened here four years ago, please know that I love you, that I will cherish and carry you in my heart forever and that I will never, ever forget you, for as long as I live. Goodbye, Jon…’’ 

His voice breaking on the last two words, and with the tears streaming down his face once again, Max kissed his fingers, before gently touching them to the stone that Jonathan had laid on when he died as a last gesture of goodbye. He slowly got up then, still slightly wobbly on his legs as he walked out of the chamber. He could see Charles opening his mouth as he walked out, but he quickly shook his head. ‘’No…please…’’ He begged the Prince, unable to utter a single other word without completely breaking down.

As Max spoke, Charles nodded softly and instead reached out, taking the man’s hand and lacing their fingers together. He brought their hands up to his mouth, placing a soft kiss on the back of his boyfriend’s hand as they slowly started to make their way back upstairs. They walked in silence for the whole way, until Charles stopped Max when they reached the bottom of the final stairwell. ‘’Wait.’’ He said quietly, moving in front of Max and making sure that his boyfriend looked somewhat presentable, and not like he had been crying for the past fifteen minutes.

When Charles was finally satisfied, he leaned in, placing a soft kiss on Max’s lips before giving him a nod. He wanted to say all kinds of things, to give Max the pep talk of a lifetime, but Max still looked like he could break down at any moment, and they needed to get upstairs as fast as possible. The knight practically ran up the stairs then and stormed back out into the fortress, with Charles having some real trouble keeping up without going into a run as they went back to his chambers.

Besides a stationed guard here and there, they thankfully didn’t run into anyone, and as soon as Max closed the door to Charles’ chambers behind them, he slumped down against it, his head in his hands as he started to cry again. ‘’Oh, Maxy…’’ Charles said quietly, his own heart aching as he saw his boyfriend in this state. He crouched down at the man’s side again, gently taking his hands to try and help him up. ‘’Come on, now. We’re going to get to bed. That’s all you have left to do, I promise.’’

It took Charles a minute to get his boyfriend back onto his feet, and his heart clearly wasn’t in it, but he finally managed. Max had stopped crying by then, his heart feeling too empty to even have that emotion left in him. He just stood there, trembling, letting out broken little sounds every now and again as Charles helped to undress the man and guided him into bed. The Prince quickly stepped out for a moment then, informing the guards in no uncertain terms that nobody, absolutely nobody, was to enter his chambers for any reason whatsoever. They appeared to understand without too much issue.

Charles then returned to the bedroom, undressing himself and getting into bed with his boyfriend himself, where he wrapped his arms around Max and pulled him in close, until their legs were tangled together and the knight’s head was on Charles’ chest. He kept one arm around Max’s waist, using the other to start to gently play with his boyfriend’s hair. ‘’We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Maxy.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I just want to know one thing.’’

Max finally looked up at his boyfriend then, meeting his eyes for the first time since they’d been in the torture chamber, and nodded softly for the Prince to continue. ‘’Do you think that you found the closure that you were looking for?’’ He asked quietly.

Max took a deep breath then, closing his eyes as he balled a fist over the place where his heart was supposed to be. He stayed silent, almost for a full minute, before he finally nodded softly. ‘’I think so.’’ He whispered.

The knight’s words made Charles smile lovingly, and he placed a kiss on Max’s forehead when the man looked back up at him. ‘’Then I think we’re going to be alright.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I love you, Maxy.’’ He added, pulling the covers up a little as he got ready to try and catch some sleep before their long journey home the next day. He could hear Max sighing as the man moved into a more comfortable position, and he smiled when he saw the knight’s eyes slowly close.

‘’I love you, too.’’


	25. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brand new chapter!
> 
> Sorry it's been a couple of days since I've uploaded anything, but I've been away at my parents' place for the weekend for some much needed rest and relaxation.
> 
> Here we are again though! A nice and uplifting chapter after the horror that was the last one....not! :D
> 
> Yeah this one has some STUFF in there. Hope you enjoy! <3

When Charles awoke the next morning, Max was still asleep in his arms. He could see some beams of sunlight coming into the room from the gaps between the curtains, telling him that morning had come. He smiled softly as he looked down at his boyfriend, placing a kiss on his head. Charles had been so exhausted from all of the emotion last night, and he imagined that it was infinitely worse for Max. Still though, they couldn’t lie in bed together forever. They weren’t home.

And so he started to gently rub Max’s arm, humming softly to him. ‘’Maxy.’’ He said quietly, placing kisses on his boyfriend’s head as they cuddled. ‘’Wake up now.’’ He told the man gently. Charles words made Max stir, and he rolled onto his stomach as he nuzzled his face deeper into the Prince’s chest. ‘’Max isn’t here.’’ He mumbled in response, making Charles chuckle softly as he gently pushed his fingers through Max’s hair.

‘’I really like that your hair is a little longer now.’’ Charles said quietly, smiling when Max finally turned his head to look up at the Prince. ‘’Really? I might keep it that way then.’’ Max answered. He was not yet feeling like moving to kiss Charles, still too sleepy for it, so he instead settled on placing a small kiss on the Prince’s chest. It made Charles sigh happily and he moved his hand to gently brush his fingers over the knight’s growing facial hair instead. ‘’Keep this, too. You look hot.’’ He added with a grin.

Max started laughing then, shaking his head a little on his boyfriend and finally leaning up to kiss him properly. ‘’I love you so much.’’ He said as he pulled away, gazing lovingly into Charles’ eyes for a moment, before he stepped out of bed and went to get dressed. As he put his clothes on, he let out a long, deep sigh, and Charles frowned over at his boyfriend, a little concerned. ‘’How are you doing, Maxy?’’ He asked, sitting up as his hands fidgeted a little nervously with the covers. 

Charles had woken up a few times that night, each time to Max talking in his sleep, or making noises of distress. He had kept turning and tossing as he slept, and the bags under his eyes told the Prince that his boyfriend really hadn’t slept well at all. It worried him. A lot.

‘’I’m…alright. As good as I can be, I guess.’’ Max said, shrugging a little. He smiled over at Charles when the Prince continued to look concerned and finally walked over after he had gotten dressed, kissing the man’s forehead. ‘’All because of you. If you hadn’t been there with me, taking care of me every step of the way I….I don’t know what would’ve happened. What I would’ve done.’’ He said quietly. He looked sad as he spoke, and Charles took the knight’s hands in his own.

‘’Anything you need, tell me. I’m here for you, always.’’ Charles assured his boyfriend, who nodded in return. ‘’I know, love.’’ Max replied, kissing Charles, before he pulled away completely. ‘’I’m going to go downstairs and make sure things are getting ready for our departure. You can relax a moment more, but be sure to be ready on time, please.’’ He informed the Prince, before he headed out of the room.

Max was quick to make his way outside, where he inspected the horses and their supplies for their return journey to Turon, when soon after, one of his father’s guards approached him. ‘’My Lord, your father wishes to speak with you.’’ He told Max, who groaned inwardly at the prospect. He had managed to evade his father for most of the week, and had really only spoken to him with Charles by his side after having had that outburst on their first day in Skoedal. He had hoped to flee the land without any more one on one time with the man, but that appeared not to be possible. 

‘’Yeah, I’ll be there in a moment. His study?’’ Max asked the guard, who nodded in return. ‘’Yes, my Lord. Allow me to escort you.’’ Max’s smile fell a little then. He had hoped to wait a little longer, thereby cutting their meeting short for as much as he would be able to, but apparently it just wasn’t meant to be that way. He turned back for a moment, conversing a few minutes more with the captain of the small army that Lorenzo had sent with them for their safety, before he followed the guard to his father’s study.

The guard stopped Max outside for a moment, knocking before entering to announce Max’s arrival. When the knight finally walked in, he did so without greeting his father. He simply sat down on the chair across from his desk, crossing his arms. ‘’You wished to see me?’’ He asked. Jos gave a nod to the guard then, waiting for him to leave before he answered.

‘’I wished to see you more than an hour ago. Even sent someone up to your room. But you weren’t there...’’ Jos said, his gaze cold as he stared his son down and let that silence hang in the air, almost threateningly so. For a moment, it felt like Max’s heart had stopped beating. He knew. His father knew. No…he couldn’t, could he? There…there was a logical explanation for this. He could talk himself out of this. Of course he could. He just had to….think.

‘’I…that’s right. I wasn’t…’’ Max finally said. As he spoke, an idea popped into his head, and he sat up a little straighter as he smiled at his father. ‘’I was with His Highness last night, talking through the details of our journey back towards the capital. But…we have become friends too, and we had a nice time, so we when forgot the time and it was finally the early hours of the morning, I decided to just sleep on his couch rather than make my way back to my own room.’’ He explained to his father.

That would have to work, right? It was a perfectly reasonable explanation, no harm done. Jos didn’t know that Charles was gay, he wouldn’t find anything wrong with that, right…? Jos hummed in return to his son then, folding his hands together as he continued to stare him down. ‘’So you are leaving after breakfast then?’’ He asked, and Max was fairly certain he had never felt so relieved in his life at a change of subject.

‘’We are, yes. Given the weather of the past few days I’m hoping that we can make the journey to Turon in two weeks, but we can’t afford to lose much time today. His Highness should be down soon and we can leave after he’s done eating.’’ Max told his father, who nodded softly. ‘’I do wish that you would stay. Here I can keep an eye on you, turn you into the leader you are supposed to be. Down there…in that rat’s nest of immorality and depravity they call the capital, they will only corrupt you further.’’

Max’s own gaze hardened at his father’s words, and he got up then. ‘’If we have nothing else pressing to talk about, I would like to get ready for our departure.’’ He told Jos, who let out a small sigh. ‘’Let me leave you with one last piece of advice.’’ The man said, and Max had to do his very best not to laugh in his face.

‘’Remember what happened in the dungeons, just a few short years ago.’’

It was as if Max’s ears suddenly started ringing, his vision went black, and he couldn’t breathe anymore. His father had never, ever, mentioned what had happened to Jonathan before. The whole thing had been silenced ever since that day, never to be spoken of again. Or so Max thought. 

‘’W-w….what……what did you just say…?’’ Max finally managed to ask, after he had slumped back down onto his chair. He still felt like he could barely breathe, and he had to ball his hands into fists to stop them from trembling. He was scared. So scared. Not for himself. Part of him still thought that he deserved to die for what he had done to Jonathan. But for Charles. He needed to get the Prince to safety. Needed to make sure that he was unhurt. It was his entire purpose.

‘’You heard me.’’ Jos simply replied, the little smirk on his face indicating that this was the exact response that he had hoped for. ‘’Nobody is as untouchable as you might think they are, Max.’’ He added, sending chills down the knight’s spine. Those words sounded so terrifying, so ominous, and Max really didn’t think that there was anything worse that his father could say…until he did.

‘’The attack on the King was such a shame, wasn’t it?’’

Max’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly as he stared at his father in complete and utter shock. ‘’You…’’ He said quietly, earning himself a small chuckle from Jos. ‘’Me.’’ He answered. ‘’Although I really should’ve known that filthy bandits and mercenaries can never do a knight’s job.’’

Max continued to stare at the man. There were so many thought flying through his head as he sat there. So many questions that he needed answered, so many answers that he really did not want to hear. Finally, he settled on one thing, the thing that he needed to know most of all. ‘’Why?’’ He asked his father.

The question made Jos laugh, and he shook his head. ‘’You stupid boy. You truly do not see what I am trying to accomplish, do you?’’ He asked Max, taking a deep breath after. ‘’I have told you this before. Everything that I do. Every single action that I take, is for you. For my legacy. For the honour of our House. Today, or tomorrow, you might curse me, as you did four years ago. But I am doing what is right. And there will come a day that you will thank me for it.’’

Max could feel as his shock slowly started to turn into rage. He was angry. He was so unbelievably angry. This man had insisted on making his life hell. On denying him who he was. On trying to murder the brother of the man that he loved. He was done. ‘’Why are you telling me these things? What guarantee do you have that I will not tell the King? That I will not seek revenge for all that you have done to me?’’ He demanded to know. 

The tables were finally turned now. Now, Max would have one up on his father, would no longer have to live under his thumb under threat that he would divulge his father’s actions to Lorenzo. Or at least…so he thought. Because as soon as Max finished speaking, Jos started to laugh. ‘’You would tell the King? And risk the harm of your mother and sister? I don’t think so.’’ He told his son and to his shock, Max could not tell whether Jos meant Sophie and Victoria getting hurt in Lorenzo’s retribution, or by Jos’s own hand.

‘’Besides, do you really think that they trust you? You are of Skoedal, my son. To them, you will always be an outsider. A stranger. Alien to their world. Tell them that your father betrayed them, and they will turn on you before you finish your sentence.’’ Jos predicted, looking absolutely disgusted as he spoke. ‘’They will throw in the dungeons without a second thought, and leave you there to rot.’’

As Jos spoke, Max’s first thought was that he was lying. Charles would never, Lorenzo would never….right? He then remembered his fight with Pierre. He hadn’t trusted Max for a moment. Thought from the get go that he was working on orders from his father. Was that really how people down in the South thought about them? As traitors to the Crown?

Max suddenly got up then, with such force that his chair toppled and clattered to the ground. He gave his father a last, long look, before he finally stormed out of the room, his mind spiralling once again. He couldn’t tell Charles. He couldn’t tell anyone. Jos might hurt his mother or sister. Lorenzo might have him thrown into the dungeons. Pierre might even try and kill him. He couldn’t trust anyone…not anymore.

As Max practically ran through the fortress, he almost walked into Charles, who was just coming out of the dining room. ‘’Oh, hi Max.’’ He said happily. ‘’I just finished eating with Sophie and Vict-…Are you okay?’’ The Prince could see how pale Max was, and the look in his eyes told him that the knight was panicked. ‘’Where were you?’’ He asked, looking behind his boyfriend like that was going to clear anything up.

‘’I…I was…It doesn’t matter…’’ Max finally said, giving Charles a small smile as he managed to regain some of his composure. ‘’You’re all done eating then? That’s good, it means we can head out.’’ He told the Prince, who nodded softly, still not looking entirely convinced that something wasn’t terribly wrong with his boyfriend. ‘’Yeah, I guess so…Do you want to go and say goodbye to your mother and sister?’’

Max nodded softly in response to Charles’ question, and the trembling breath that he let out at the mention of them told Charles that something really was wrong. ‘’Maxy…are you sure you’re okay..?’’ He asked quietly, giving the man a concerned look. ‘’Yeah…’’ Max answered, nodding softly. ‘’Just…I never liked saying goodbye.’’

He was lying of course. Yes, he would miss his mother and Victoria terribly, but he couldn’t wait to be as far away from this place as one could ever be. He couldn’t bear staying there a moment longer. Still, it hurt him terribly to lie. Not in general. He was fine with lying, always had been, given the environment that he had grown up in. But not to Charles…never to Charles. Not again. Not after all that they had been through together. Regardless, that was not something to worry about right then, he just had to get out of there as quickly as he possibly could.

He walked into the dining room, where Sophie and Victoria were still in conversation. ‘’Hey...’’ Max said as he entered the room. ‘’It’s time to say goodbye.’’ He said as he walked over to his sister, giving her a tight hug. Victoria nodded softly, hugging her brother back and rubbing his back for a moment. ‘’I’ll miss you, Max. Come back soon and don’t forget to write this time, okay?’’ She asked, and Max chuckled softly. ‘’I’ll do my best, Vic.’’ He told her, before he moved over to his mother, hugging her just as tight.

Sophie sighed deeply as she took her son in her arms, kissing his temple. ‘’I love you so much, sweetheart. Be a good boy and be safe. Otherwise you’re going to be in trouble with me.’’ She told Max, chuckling softly as she pulled away. ‘’I love you too, mom.’’ He told her honestly. ‘’Both of you.’’ He smiled as he took a step back and pouted a little when his stomach growled.

‘’Have you eaten?’’ Sophie asked immediately, sighing deeply when Max just shrugged in return. ‘’Oh, Maxy…’’ He chided him, forcing him to have at least a few bites before letting him go back outside. When Max finally had all his furs back on and exited the fortress, pretty much the entire party seemed ready to leave. Max inspected them for a moment, before he mounted his own horse and joined Charles’ side again.

He nodded at the Prince when he got another slightly worried look from the man, before he turned his gaze back around, to where his family and most of the staff had by now amassed to say goodbye. He waved at all of them, and made sure that Lando was actually present in their party, before he turned his head forward again, taking a last, deep breath, before they rode out of the gates of Oyoria, and started the long journey home.


	26. Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!
> 
> Which is slightly less heartbreaking and in which a LONG overdue character is finally introduced!
> 
> Hope you enjoy! <3

Travelling back to Turon brought with it its own share of challenges. First and foremost was the weather. A snowstorm hit the party on the third day of travel, causing them to lose almost an entire day of progress as they found shelter and waited out the worst of it. The fresh layer of snow made traveling a lot tougher and slowed them down significantly, causing them to add almost another 3 days to their journey. It really made Max thankful for insisting to bring enough supplies to last at least 3 weeks, rather than the 2 weeks they had planned to travel for.

Secondly, there was Max himself. From the moment that they had left Oyoria, really from the moment Charles had seen his boyfriend after breakfast, the man had seemed a little off to Charles. Like he was trying to distance himself a little from the Prince. Not physically, the knight still stayed by Charles’ side at every waking moment, and if anything seemed even more alert to protect him. And he still spent every night that they could in his bed, but his distancing was more so mentally. It was almost like he was rebuilding the walls that he had brought down for Charles, not wanting to let him in so much anymore. It really worried the Prince.

It was on the 12th day of their journey, when Charles decided to address the elephant in the room. They had by then crossed the highest point of the mountain pass leading out of Skoedal and back into Nikmaa, and Charles had hoped to see a tension leaving Max as soon as they left his homeland, and left the worst of it behind them. That didn’t happen though. His boyfriend remained closed off, staying quiet even though they were cuddling in bed together.

The Prince sighed deeply after spending a little while in his boyfriend’s arms in silence. He had his head down on Max’s shoulder, running his fingers over the knight’s chest as they cuddled together. ‘’Maxy…what’s wrong?’’ He asked quietly. He hadn’t done so before, not since they were still at Oyoria, hoping that Max would start sharing on his own, but since it just wasn’t happening, Charles felt like he had no choice but to try and intervene.

His words made Max frown a little, and he shifted his gaze to look down into Charles’ eyes. ‘’What do you mean? Nothing is wrong.’’ He told the Prince, making Charles sigh deeply in return. He stayed quiet for a moment then, considering what to do. Part of him wanted to confront Max, to drag the truth out of him so that he could help him with it, but on the other hand…he knew how tough everything had been for Max in Skoedal, and he wanted to give his boyfriend the space that he needed to work through it. He just wished that Max would let him in.

‘’Are you sure…?’’ Charles finally asked, giving his boyfriend a final opportunity to say anything, but Max just shrugged in return. ‘’Yeah, I’m fine.’’ He told the Prince quietly, leaning down to give him a kiss and practically shut him up. Nothing changed after that point, and though Charles only got more annoyed with Max building up all of his walls again, he didn’t mention it. He just bit his tongue, hoping that his boyfriend would come back to him on his own. He did not for the rest of the journey.

It was almost two and a half weeks since they had left Oyoria when they finally reached the city of Turon. It was a more than welcome sight to Charles, being exhausted from all the travelling and getting a little fed up with Max at this point, who still insisted on being closed off and quiet, while pretending that there was absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever as he appeared to be more paranoid than ever about Charles’ safety. They rode in through the city gates, with most of their men diverted to the city barracks as Charles and his Crownsguard continued on to the main keep in the centre of the city.

When they arrived there, the Gasly family was already waiting outside with most of the keep’s staff, ready to greet their Prince. Charles dismounted his horse with a bright smile when he reached them, nodding at Lord and Lady Gasly and politely exchanging a few words with them, before he walked to Pierre into took him into a tight hug. ‘’I missed you, my friend.’’ He told the Lord, who chuckled in return and hugged Charles back.

‘’I missed you too, Your Highness.’’ Pierre told the Prince, looking him up and down as he pulled away from their hug. ‘’Hmmmm, you look tired. Do you want to go upstairs and take a nap?’’ He asked, worried about the Prince as always and making Charles shake his head. ‘’Not really, no. I really want to drink with you and tell you what the fuck happened up there.’’ He told his best friend quietly, not really wanting anyone else to overhear.

He had barely finished talking, before he suddenly heard a voice calling out from the keep’s entrance. ‘’MAXY!’’ It called excitedly, making Charles frown deeply as he looked over to see exactly where it was coming from. ‘’Right…’’ Pierre said, chuckling a little. ‘’So Lord Ricciardo arrived yesterday. He’s on his way to the capital for the King’s birthday and ball, so he decided to wait here and travel with you whenever you arrived.’’ He explained, as Daniel started walking right into Max’s direction, taking the knight into a tight hug when he finally reached him.

The moment that Max had seen Daniel, he had broken into a bright smile, the first genuine smile that Charles had seen on his boyfriend in almost three weeks. It…hurt, if he was honest, that it wasn’t him that was causing it. The knight started to laugh happily as Daniel hugged him, returning it instantly and sighing happily as they finally pulled away from a hug that lasted a little long in Charles’ opinion.

‘’It’s so good to see you!’’ Daniel said excitedly, grinning as he looked Max up and down and whistling as he took it all in. ‘’You got…wow you really grew into that skinny, little body of yours.’’ He teased with a happy chuckle. ‘’And I heard that you won the annual tournament, too?’’ He asked. Charles’ jaw nearly dropped as he watched Max blushing, actually blushing as this man spoke to him, and he cleared his throat once he couldn’t take it anymore to just stand on the side-lines like this.

He had no idea that Max was this close with Lord Ricciardo, but he didn’t like it one bit as he looked at the scene, especially since he knew nothing about it. ‘’Lord Ricciardo, how good to see you again.’’ He said, loudly enough to be sure that the man would surely hear him, and with a tone that surely showed his displeasure at being overlooked. Daniel did finally look away from Max when his name was mentioned, and he smiled over at Charles before making a very deep and elaborate bow. ‘’Your Highness. My apologies. I was simply too excited to see my old friend Maxy again. I meant no disrespect.’’ He assured the Prince.

Charles hummed in response for a moment, watching the Lord before he nodded. ‘’That is…understandable, I suppose…How exactly do you two know each other then?’’ He asked, giving Max a very pointed look, given that Charles was really feeling very annoyed that the knight had never seen it necessary to inform the Prince that he was apparently very close with Lord Ricciardo, one of the other High Lords of the Realm, and ruler of one of the old Five Kingdoms.

‘’Well, a number of years ago, Maxy here spent two years down in Ante with me and I served as a sort of mentor and tutor in all things being a Lord and a great knight. So really, his victory in the tournament was all thanks to me.’’ Daniel said, grinning back at over at Max, who just fondly rolled his eyes as he looked back at Daniel. ‘’Yeah, yeah. If you say so.’’ He said and chuckled.

‘’I didn’t know you’d be here. Did you wait for us?’’ Max asked curiously. Daniel happily nodded in response, patting the man’s shoulder as he smiled at him. ‘’Of course I did! Couldn’t miss the chance to finally see my Maxy again!’’ He said excitedly, and Charles could see how the knight started blushing again. He was about to say something again, but it appeared that he wasn’t the only person noticing certain things.

Pierre took Charles’ arm before the Prince could speak up again, pulling him aside a little to get his attention. ‘’Why don’t we head in to have a drink and something to eat and let those two catch up.’’ He proposed to Charles, before he looked back at Daniel and Max. ‘’You two enjoy yourselves, We’ll be in my chambers if you need us.’’ He informed them, before he dragged Charles along, not waiting for an answer from the Prince.

They walked upstairs together, and Pierre closed the door behind them before Charles was groaning. ‘’What the fuck was that, Pierre?’’ He demanded, whereas the Lord in question simply rolled his eyes and walked over to the side of the room, pouring them both a glass of wine and offering it to Charles as he walked back. ‘’That was you. Getting jealous. Because your boyfriend is close friends with another attractive man.’’ He simply said.

‘’What…?’’ Charles replied, frowning as he followed Pierre and sat down in the seat across from him. ‘’I don’t get jealous…I just…I didn’t like the way that Max was reacting to him…He was BLUSHING, Pierre!’’ He told his best friend, who started chuckling. ‘’Yeah…that’s jealousy, Charles.’’ Pierre informed the Prince, who huffed a little as he started drinking.

‘’I’m just really annoyed with him at the moment.’’ Charles explained to Pierre, who hummed in return. ‘’Oh? That’s new. Normally you can’t get enough of your perfect boyfriend.’’ He told the Prince. Charles sighed deeply in return and shook his head. ‘’Skoedal was bad, Pierre. It was really, really bad. Max’s father is the most awful person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.’’

Pierre’s amused expression turned into a frown then, and he looked at Charles for a moment, before he answered. ‘’I mean…I know that the guy has a very bad reputation, and I admit that I was a little worried about you heading up there, but you had Max with you, right? Was it really that bad?’’ He asked the Prince, who winced a little.

‘’It’s…it’s not even about me, Pierre.’’ Charles said honestly. ‘’Yes, he was awful to me, and he made some comments that I do not care to repeat out loud, but…he has spent his life making Max’s life a living hell. I…there are certain things that I cannot say, but…I am so glad that I could get him out of there.’’ He told his friend, who still looked very worried.

Pierre stayed silent for a moment, clearly in thought, before he seemed to have everything figured out. ‘’It’s about Max being gay, isn’t it?’’ He asked the Prince, who let out a long, deep sigh in return, before he finally nodded. ‘’Yeah…’’ He said quietly. ‘’It’s…you know how it’s taboo up there and when his dad found out he…the things he did are unspeakable, Pierre. I can’t tell you, but…I never want Max to go through anything like that ever again. I don’t think that he could manage.’’

Charles was looking a little distraught as he spoke, and he seemed to be very close to tears, so Pierre got up then, sitting down next to his best friend and hugging him from the side. ‘’He won’t, Charles. Not while he has you taking care of him.’’ He told the man quietly, gently rubbing his arm as they sat together.

Charles managed a little smile then, cuddling close against Pierre’s side. ‘’I hope so.’’ He told the man, who chuckled softly in return. ‘’I know so, Charles. You love him. And that means that you will fight to the death for him. You are so much stronger than you know.’’ He assured his friend, kissing his head as they cuddled. 

Pierre hummed a little then, and looked back down at Charles. ‘’But that still doesn’t explain why you are annoyed with him.’’ He told the Prince. ‘’So far I’ve heard nothing about what Max has done wrong to make you act like a brat, so tell me already.’’ He joked a little to break the tension in the room, and he was successful in making Charles chuckle as he cuddled his friend.

‘’Well…Max tells me everything. Or at least I thought that he did. He told me everything about what happened with his dad, and we went through something while in Skoedal that hopefully helps him to get over it all, but…ever since the day that we left, it feels to me like he’s been closing himself off from me again. Like he is rebuilding the walls that we had torn down together. I’m scared that I’m losing him, and I’m angry that he refuses to let me in.’’ Charles explained quietly.

Pierre considered Charles’ words for a moment, still slowly rubbing the Prince’s arm as they sat together. ‘’Well…you said yourself that he had a lot to deal with in Skoedal. Maybe he is just taking his time to work through it. It could be something that he has to do on his own.’’ He offered to Charles, who shook his head. ‘’I…I thought so too at first, but…I don’t know. It just feels to me like it’s something different. I know him, Pierre. I feel like I’d be able to tell if that was it. And there would be no reason to hide it from me.’’

Pierre frowned a little again then, another thought coming into his head. ‘’Do you think that his father did something that made him act differently?’’ He asked Charles, who frowned a little then, too. He hadn’t really even thought about that. He had been in Max’s company for the entire week…except for when the knight had gone to inspect everything for their journey home. Charles tried his best to map the fortress in his mind, to figure out if Max had come from Jos’ study when he ran into him in the hallway, but he couldn’t figure it out.

‘’I…I don’t know.’’ He told Pierre honestly. ‘’I’ll have to ask him…I will ask him.’’ He decided. If Jos really had done something, this would make at least some sense. He was still able to get to Max, that much Charles had realized, and if he had managed something, then Charles had to take care of it before it would consume his boyfriend and drive him completely mad.

‘’He’s with Daniel now though…’’ Charles said, sighing before he finished his entire glass of wine in one go. ‘’Handsome, perfect, making my boyfriend blush Daniel.’’ He said with a pout, sending Pierre into loud laughter. ‘’Oh gods…’’ The Lord finally said as he wiped the tears of laughter from his cheeks. ‘’I freaking love jealous Charles. It’s so cute.’’ He teased his friend, getting up to get them both a refill of wine.

‘’It just means that you can spend some more time with your best friend in the entire world before you go back to your boyfriend for a talk, sweetie.’’ Pierre informed the Prince, sitting back down to sip his own wine as he watched Charles instantly continue with his. They spent a couple of hours together, catching up and having a nice time eating and drinking, before Charles was finally absolutely exhausted. He hugged Pierre and told him goodnight, before he had his Crownsguard take him upstairs to his chambers.

When Charles walked into his chambers, he watched as Max walked in from the balcony, giving him a sweet smile as he walked over and hugged his boyfriend. ‘’Hello, love. Did you have a nice time with Pierre?’’ He asked, gentle as always when he noticed how tired Charles was looking. It always made the Prince nice and cuddly, and Max tended to make the most of it. 

Charles hugged his boyfriend back for a moment, nodding in response to his question, before he let out a long, deep sigh. Yes, he was drunk, but the fact that they needed to talk was still in his mind, and so he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. ‘’Maxy, we need to…’’ He started as he pulled away, before he was shut up as he stared into his boyfriend’s kind eyes.

Max looked so loving as he gazed at Charles, so handsome with his longer hair and growing facial hair, that Charles completely forgot his train of thought as he stared into his boyfriend’s seemingly endless blue eyes. ‘’Fuck…’’ Was all that he managed to whisper, making the knight smirk in return.


	27. Pillowtalk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter soooooooooo much. I don't know how much you guys will enjoy it, but this is my favourite kind of chapter. It's cute, it's emotional, it's a deep dive into their characters. I fucking love it, and I really hope you do too.
> 
> Let me know what you think and if you did enjoy it, and as always thank you so much for sticking with me, you're an absolute legend, you <3

When Charles’ eyes opened again the morning after, he felt nice. Better than he had at any time he could remember over the past month or so. Max had his arms still securely around his waist, and the Prince’s head was nuzzled into the knight’s chest. He could hear Max’s heartbeat. Slow, steady, powerful, and he figured that the man was still asleep as he listened to the slow, rhythmic beating. As Charles moved the slightest bit, he could feel the ache in his body. It wasn’t really that painful, more like a dull, pleasant ache, a very nice reminder of the previous night. They hadn’t had sex in almost two months, and they had made sure to more than make up for lost time.

Charles took a deep breath then, smiling softly to himself as all of the very happy memories from the night came flooding back to him, and he nuzzled a little deeper into Max’s chest as he placed a gentle kiss on the skin. ‘’I love you so much, Maxy.’’ He said quietly. The covers were down below Charles’ shoulders, and so Max’s broad torso was exposed more than enough for the Prince to start drawing gentle shapes onto the skin. 

It was nice, it was relaxed, and it felt like the absolute perfect morning for the young Prince, only disturbed in his happy thoughts when he suddenly felt reminded of what he had originally wanted to ask Max the day before. The reason why the man had been so distant. Why he wouldn’t tell Charles the truth of what he was thinking and worrying about. Only the Prince had been distracted by his boyfriend’s lazy smile and those beautiful blue eyes, making him forget all about his worries for that moment.

The same eyes that were now slowly opening, sleepily looking over at Charles as he re-joined the Prince in the land of the living. ‘’Hi, beautiful.’’ The knight croaked, his voice sounding very rough after sleep. It sent shivers down Charles’ spine, and he briefly considered going for round three, after their earlier two rounds the night before. He wasn’t drunk now anymore though. He could actually manage a coherent thought that went further than wanting to ride his boyfriend’s dick.

‘’Hi, Maxy.’’ Charles finally said, leaning up to gently kiss his boyfriend. He could see how Max’s eyes stayed shut when he pulled away again, and it made the Prince giggle a little. ‘’Don’t you go falling back asleep on me, Maxy.’’ He teased the knight, who groaned softly in return. ‘’But you tired me out so much last night. Don’t I deserve my rest?’’ Max asked in return, a little smirk coming onto his face, before he slowly opened his eyes again, his gaze trained on Charles.

The Prince hummed softly in return, leaning in to kiss Max again before he turned onto his stomach and put his chin down on his boyfriend’s chest, smiling up at him. ‘’As I recall it was a certain someone in this room who seduced me into going for the second round, and was I the one who did all the work, too.’’ He told the knight, who chuckled softly to himself, reaching out and gently playing with Charles’ hair as they cuddled together. ‘’And I remember you did very, very well, too.’’ He added with a grin.

Max let out a long, pleased sigh then, looking down into Charles’ eyes as his fingers continued to run through the man’s hair. ‘’I love you. More than anything or anyone else in this entire world. You know that, right?’’ He asked the prince quietly. Charles’ face fell a little, and he looked slightly concerned at the sudden confession of love, but he nodded softly. ‘’I know, Maxy.’’ He replied quietly. ‘’And the same goes for me, too.’’ He added. ‘’I didn’t think I was capable of loving anyone as much as you, but…then you came into my life.’’ The Prince said with a soft chuckle, making Max’s heart melt all over again as he looked at his boyfriend.

‘’But…’’ Charles added, and then it was Max’s turn to look concerned. ‘’We do need to talk.’’ Charles’ words made Max sigh, and he pouted a little down at his boyfriend. ‘’Do we have to? Can’t we just make out and maybe fool around a little more before we have to go and do important stuff?’’ Charles sighed a little in return and shook his head on Max then, sitting up and looking down at the knight. ‘’We need to talk about how things are since we’ve come back from Skoedal.’’ He told Max gently.

‘’What do you mean?’’ Max asked, pretending to look a confused. ‘’I’m happy to be out of that place and I hope to never have to go back there. That’s all. Things are still the same.’’ He told Charles, a little too aggressively for the Prince’s liking. It made Charles frown slightly, and he hummed as he suddenly moved to straddle Max’s hips, taking the knight’s hands and pinning them over his head. ‘’I don’t like your tone, Maxy. So how about you first listen to what I have to say without a word from you and then you can tell me what you think in return. Okay?’’ Charles proposed, leaning down to seal his words with a kiss.

The both of them were still very naked, and Charles pinning him down and taking control of him like this was actually turning Max on a little. He finally nodded softly, keeping his mouth shut so that Charles could say whatever he wanted to say. ‘’I worry about you.’’ Charles started quietly. ‘’You’ve been distancing yourself from me. Not…physically, very much not physically, but…mentally. You don’t talk to me anymore. You don’t share your feelings, you barely laugh or smile. Sometimes it feels like I am talking at you, rather than with you. I…it feels like you’re rebuilding all the walls that we tore down together, Maxy. I feel like I’m slowly losing you. And it terrifies me.’’

The frown on Max’s face had made way for a look of concern as the Prince spoke, and if Charles hadn’t had his wrists pinned down to the bed, he would already be hugging his boyfriend tightly. His eyes seemed to tear up a little as Charles voiced his concerns for Max and their relationship, but he managed to blink them away before it got too bad, and he hoped before Charles spotted it, too. ‘’Charles…’’ Max said quietly, letting out a long, deep sigh before he continued. 

He really didn’t know what to say. The truth was…he couldn’t tell Charles the truth. Max knew how much Charles cared about his brother, how furious he would be if he knew that it was Max’s father who caused him to almost lose the other father figure in his life. There would most likely be a war. Thousands of people would likely die. He couldn’t tell Charles, and Jos knew it. He knew exactly what he was doing when he told Max. Knew how much it would torture him and drive a wedge between him and his boyfriend.

‘’Maxy?’’ Charles asked then, and Max realized only then that he had probably been silent for a while now, stuck in his own head, his own rambling thoughts. The Prince let go of his wrists then, instead leaning down to kiss him again, before he laid down on top of his boyfriend and nuzzled into his neck. ‘’Am I losing you, Maxy?’’ He asked again, voicing his thoughts from earlier now in a direct question at the knight.

Max frowned deeply at Charles’ words, and he quickly wrapped his arms back around Charles, holding him as close as he possibly could without hurting him. ‘’No…Charles, no.’’ He said quietly. ‘’Listen to me.’’ He told the Prince, pulling away slightly so he could look his boyfriend in the eye from where the Prince currently was on his shoulder. ‘’You will never lose me.’’ He assured the man. Charles nodded softly, but still didn’t seem entirely convinced, which was just unacceptable.

It was Max’s turn to roll them over then, towering over Charles as he held himself up on elbows, looking down at his boyfriend’s beautiful face. ‘’Charles. Look at me.’’ He said quietly. The Prince let out a long, deep sigh, before he finally shifted his gaze, meeting Max’s eyes with a bit of a pout on his face. ‘’I love you.’’ Max said quietly. ‘’I wasn’t kidding just now. You are the love of my life. The most important person there has ever been. Do you remember what I said, back in Oyoria?’’ He asked quietly.

Charles bit his lip for a moment at Max’s question, making the knight chuckle softly as he gently put his forehead against the Prince’s for a moment. ‘’I told you that I wanted to close that chapter of my life so that I can devote the rest of it to you. I meant that. I would marry you in a heartbeat Charles. I would do whatever you asked of me. You will never, ever lose me. Not as long as I’m alive. And I need you to know that.’’ 

Max could see as Charles swallowed thickly, and he looked a little emotional all of a sudden as he stared up at his boyfriend. ‘’You want to marry me…?’’ He asked quietly, and Max’s eyes suddenly widened. ‘’I…I…Is it not okay for me to say that? I’m sorry Charles, I j-‘’ The knight started to say, but was almost immediately shut up by Charles wrapping his arms around the man’s neck and pulling him down for a kiss. ‘’Shut up.’’ He told Max. ‘’Just shut up and fuck me already.’’

Thankfully, they had woken up pretty early, so nobody had come to wake Charles up yet as they two of them went at it for their third round. As Max finished cleaning the two of them up afterwards and climbed back into bed with his boyfriend, he hummed softly. ‘’Did me saying that I want to marry you really turn you on so much?’’ He asked with a smirk, earning himself a smack on the chest. ‘’Shut up.’’ Charles told his boyfriend as he cuddled in close again. ‘’I just love hearing you say all of that sweet, amazing shit and it makes me want to make love with you.’’ He said as he blushed a little.

‘’Gods, you are so sappy and I absolutely love it.’’ Max replied to the Prince, gently stroking his back as they cuddled together. This lasted for a couple of minutes, before Charles started to pout again. ‘’You know you still haven’t actually told me why you have been acting this way…’’ He told Max quietly, causing the knight to sigh deeply.

‘’I’m fine, Charles. Honestly. I just…’’ Max said, his mind racing to come up with a valid excuse as quickly as possible. ‘’I…There’s just been a lot of things on my mind ever since we left Skoedal and I needed some time to deal with all of it.’’ He closed his eyes for a moment then, and even though he hated himself already for doing it, he knew that there was one subject that would satisfy Charles’ curiosity. ‘’You really helped me to deal with the pain of Jonathan when we were there, but this last hurdle, the final hurdle, is one that I need to take on my own.’’ He told his boyfriend quietly.

Charles nodded softly then, his fingers gently running over Max’s chest as he listened to the man. ‘’You promise that’s it?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Because if there’s something, anything else, you can always tell me.’’ Max took a deep breath then, nodding softly and giving Charles his most sincere smile. ‘’I promise, my love.’’ He told the Prince. As he said it, it was like Max could feel the knife being plunged into his own heart. He hated lying to Charles. It was the worst thing in the entire world, but he felt like he didn’t have a choice.

They laid there for a little while longer, talking quietly and exchanging soft kisses from time to time, until the door to Charles’ bedroom suddenly swung open. It made the Prince frown, given that he had told the Crownsguards outside in no uncertain terms that letting anyone in would most likely mean their demise, but apparently, they still hadn’t quite gotten the message. He would just have to make his thoughts on that clear later.

Pierre closed the door after entering the room and then leaned against it, his arms crossed as he looked at the two lovers in bed. ‘’Goodmorning.’’ He said, seemingly not too bothered anymore by the sight of Max in bed with his best friend. ‘’I decided to come and see whether you were still alive, given how late it is, but I can see that you were a little too busy to eat.’’ He made a bit of a face then, walking over to the window to open it. ‘’Gods, this room reeks of sex.’’

Max looked extremely unimpressed as Pierre spoke and walked through the room, and he still didn’t seem that bothered when the man sat down on Charles’ side of the bed and took his boyfriend’s hand, before looking over at him. ‘’Daniel’s asking after you. He wanted to ask you to spend the day with him if you could, but you weren’t at breakfast, so….’’ Pierre told Max, and Charles suddenly realized why his best friend had taken his hand and was currently squeezing it a little. To keep him quiet and not turn into jealous Charles.

Max’s face lit up when Lord Ricciardo was mentioned though, and he hummed happily to himself as he looked down at the Prince in his arms. ‘’Do you mind if I go and spend some time with Dan, love?’’ He asked quietly. Charles opened his mouth to answer, but nearly winced when Pierre squeezed a little harder, before finally nodding. ‘’Of course not, go ahead. Have fun with…Dan.’’ He told his boyfriend, who only smiled wider and kissed Charles, before he got up.

Really, Max had never been one to feel embarrassed, certainly not about his body, and so he didn’t mind in the slightest that he was still naked and Pierre was right there as he got out of bed. He was the one who walked in on them, so he was the one having to deal with this. It made Charles blush though, and the Prince moved over a little to give Pierre a hug, with the covers still on his lower half, of course.

‘’You better spend the entire day with me after pulling this.’’ The Prince whispered into his friend’s ear, making the man chuckle to himself. ‘’Of course. Maybe my entire goal was to get you to myself because I miss having my best friend around so much.’’ Pierre admitted, still holding onto Charles’ hand after the Prince pulled away from the hug. ‘’But I’m glad that you seemed to have had a fun night with Max, at least.’’ He added, chuckling a little more as he slowly got up. ‘’Will you come downstairs after you get dressed? I need to train and I could use a sparring partner.’’

Charles nodded in response and smiled up at Pierre, sighing happily. ‘’Of course. As long as you go easy on me.’’ He told his friend, who hummed in return. ‘’We’ll see. I have to toughen you up a little somehow.’’ He said with a wink, before he left the room, nodding at Max on the way out. ‘’So he seems to have lightened up on me…’’ The knight noted with a pleased smile. He was dressed by now, and he walked back over to Charles to give him a gentle kiss. ‘’That must make you happy.’’

Charles nodded happily at his boyfriend then, before he sighed happily. ‘’It does. Pierre is like a brother to me and you are the love of my life. I want…no I need you to get along with each other, or I’ll just be sad and annoying to the both of you forever.’’ Charles’ words made Max laugh, and he kissed his boyfriend again, almost taking it further again, before the Prince pulled him away. ‘’Noooooo…’’ He laughed, smiling happily up at his boyfriend. ‘’We’re not doing this again. Tonight, big boy.’’ He told Max, finally getting out of bed too to put some clothes on. 

‘’I’ll see you at dinner, yeah?’’ Charles asked, wanting some reassurance before sending Max off to Daniel. ‘’And don’t forget about me when you’re with mister tanned and sexy either.’’ The Prince added, making Max laugh as he walked towards the door. ‘’Love, you have given me so much to think about last night and this morning that I don’t think I can get you out of my head for a single moment today.’’ He replied, before he winked and finally left the room.

Charles spent some time getting ready then, cleaning up a little bit more after them before he allowed a maid to join him in his chambers and help him wash and get dressed. All in all, it was about 40 minutes later when he finally joined Pierre in the courtyard, where the man was currently beating a training dummy to absolute pulp. He looked even stronger than he had at the tournament, like losing to Max, his fighting with Charles, and the attack on Lorenzo had made him even more determined to become an absolute killing machine. 

Pierre finally noticed Charles when the Prince cleared his throat, and he whistled when he noticed the leather armour his friend was wearing. ‘’Been a while since I’ve seen you in one of those. Can you still fight?’’ He teased, grabbing a wooden training sword and throwing it to Charles, who easily caught it. The Prince took a deep breath, rolled his neck to loosen himself up a little, before he smirked. ‘’Let’s see, shall we?’’ He asked, before he charged at his friend, sword raised in the air.


	28. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Braaaaaand new chapter! :D
> 
> I love this fic so, so, so much. It's genuinely my favourite thing that I have ever written, and I really hope you guys are enjoying it even a little bit as much as I am <3
> 
> So I am curious who you guys think is your favourite side character so far, besides the main pairing. I have my own thoughts on who I like best, but let me know! :D

Pierre tended to be surprised by Charles’ abilities whenever they sparred together. The Prince was obviously talented with a sword, and he had had the best tutors that money could buy over the years. His only real problem was that other than say, Pierre or Max, he barely used his skills anymore, making him a little rusty as he sparred with his friend. The Lord stepped back a few times as they went at it, correcting Charles or pointing something out to his friend in an attempt to help him with his moves. 

After about an hour of work though, the rust started to clean off, and Pierre was starting to have some real trouble keeping the upper hand over Charles. The Prince gave it his all, feeling like he had something to prove to his best friend, while Pierre on the other hand couldn’t help but go a little easy on Charles. He had killed before. He knew how to injure or do worse, and he didn’t want for the Prince to get seriously hurt. All of that combined, it made for a very interesting match-up.

That was, until Charles suddenly spotted something in the distance. Walking the ramparts of the castle were Max and Daniel, laughing happily together. Charles kept an eye on the pair of them as they moved, almost gasping softly when he saw Daniel put a hand on the knight’s shoulder, making Max go all shy and look away from him. He hated it. He knew he was being a jealous, little bitch about this all, but Charles absolutely hated it that anyone but him could make Max feel any of these things. 

He went at it a lot more aggressively then, taking the upper hand over Pierre for a moment. Charles even thought that he would be able to best Pierre for a second, but the Lord had figured out this new way of fighting that Charles was employing very quickly. He took over all of the strength that the Prince was putting in, redirecting it back at him and having him disarmed and with a sword at his throat within the minute. ‘’Yield.’’ He ordered the man, before he broke into a bit of a smirk. ‘’Your Highness.’’ He added, looking a little too amused for Charles’ liking. 

Charles huffed in return then, staring at Pierre at a moment before he figured out that the man genuinely wasn’t going to let him go until he said the word. ‘’Fine. I yield.’’ He spat, pushing away his friend’s sword so that he could pick up his own. ‘’Again.’’ He demanded. Pierre frowned a little at the sudden change of energy in Charles, but he didn’t mention it. He often needed to blow of some steam this way himself, so who was he to judge his friend for doing the same.

The next match-up almost went in a similar way. Charles tried his very best not to be distracted by Max and Daniel in the background, but he just couldn’t help himself. He continued to steal glances, his entire defence falling away when he suddenly saw the pair of them engaged in a full embrace. Not just a friendly one, but one that looked like they just couldn’t let go of each other anymore. It freaked Charles out. All the worst possible thoughts start flying through his head, even though he knew deep down that it was all bullshit. Max loved him. He had said so, and nothing would change that. But still…

His little freak out made Charles lose his defensive position for just a split second, but it was enough for Pierre to take over completely. He swiped at the Prince’s leg, making him lose his balance and fall over to the ground, while his sword clattered down next to him. The Lord had been about to start grinning and declare victory, if it hadn’t been for the Prince crying out in pain as his distraction had made him fall awkwardly, clutching at his wrist as he rolled over onto his back, his teeth gritted in pain.

‘’Charles!’’ Pierre called out then, dropping his wooden sword to the ground as he hurried over to his best friend’s side and knelt down. ‘’Are you okay? Is it your wrist? How bad is it? Do I need to get help?’’ He fired question after question at the Prince, who was still holding his wrist, his breathing harsh as he felt some tears of pain prickling at the sides of his eyes. ‘’I don’t know.’’ Was all he could tell Pierre, really answering all of the man’s questions in one go.

‘’Fuck, I’m so sorry, Charles.’’ Pierre told his friend. He wanted to reach out, to do something, but he had no idea what. ‘’I…Can I take a look at your wrist…?’’ He finally asked, gently reaching out for it and taking it in his hands when Charles finally let him. He inspected the Prince’s wrist for a moment, earning a hiss or a wince from Charles for every movement that he made as he tried to ascertain the damage.

It was then that Max finally reached them, looking pale, incredibly worried, and breathing a little quickly from running over, with Daniel right behind him. He kneeled down at Charles’ side, his eyes rapidly scanning over his boyfriend’s body to see what was wrong and just how angry with Pierre he needed to be, or whether to actually start murdering him. Charles looked at Max then, followed by a quick glance towards Lord Ricciardo right behind him. He did not want to seem weak. Not now, not in front of the man that he was feeling jealous over. So, he pulled his wrist back from Pierre. ‘’I’m fine.’’ He told all of them, offering his friend his good hand to be helped up.

The Lord immediately did so, still looking very concerned. ‘’Charles, it might be broken…’’ He said quietly, earning himself a glare from both Charles and Max. ‘’And whose fault is that, Pierre?!’’ The knight demanded as he stepped closer to his boyfriend, clearly very worked up over the fact that the man had managed to get Charles hurt. ‘’I leave him in your care for one day and this is what you manage to achieve?!’’ He asked angrily, earning Max a glare from Charles as well.

‘’I said I’m fine!’’ He angrily told the man, who stared at Charles in return. Max very obviously did not believe Charles in the slightest, and he reached out to gently put a hand on the Prince’s shoulder. ‘’Ch-Your Highness…’’ He started, having to keep it formal since Daniel was right there. ‘’I am charged with your care. Please, let me do so. I’ll take you upstairs to your room, and I’ll take a better look at your wrist.’’ He said gently. 

Charles was having enough trouble not showing off in how much pain he was, and so he did not have the energy left to fight Max on this. He finally just nodded softly, making the knight break into a small smile, looking relieved that Charles would at least allow him to take care of him. ‘’I’ll come with.’’ Pierre said instantly, and Max truly looked like he was about to punch the man in the face. ‘’No. You will not.’’ He practically growled, and he only seemed to relax a little when Daniel put a hand on his shoulder. 

‘’Maxy, you go ahead and take His Highness up to his chambers. Pierre and I will take care of things here, and we’ll see if we can come and see him a little later.’’ Daniel told the man. Max nodded gently in return, still huffing a little as he glared at Pierre, before he finally started walking Charles upstairs, a hand on the small of the Prince’s back as Charles was still holding his wrist, despite saying that he was perfectly fine. As they walked, Max was constantly keeping a close eyes on Charles, and the fussing was starting to irritate the Prince, despite it probably being at least somewhat necessary, given how badly his wrist was currently pulsating with pain.

He finally stopped walking when he had had enough, taking a deep breath and staring Max down when the man instantly started to look worried. ‘’Do you need to sit down, Charles? I can get you a chair.’’ The knight offered, and Charles’ stare turned into a full glare then. ‘’I am not three years old, Max. You don’t have to treat me as such.’’ He informed him, leaving Max slightly stunned for a moment as he walked on, before the knight caught up with him again. 

‘’Fine.’’ Max said, clearly annoyed with Charles in return. He was silent the rest of the way back to the Prince’s chambers, throwing the door closed behind them a little aggressively, and walking over to pour himself a drink once they had gotten in there. Once that was done, Max sat down in a chair, sipping from his drink as he stared over at Charles. ‘’You’re hurt.’’ He told the Prince. ‘’Why are you lying and saying that you’re not? And why will you not let me take care of you?’’ He demanded to know.

Charles sat down on the edge of his bed then, still holding his wrist as he pouted a little. ‘’Because I don’t want you to worry so much about me! I will be fine, Maxy. You don’t have to constantly fuss over me like I’m a child. Because I’m not.’’ Max let out a long, deep sigh at Charles’ words, putting his drink down and walking over to sit down next to his boyfriend. ‘’Charles…I’m not fussing over you because I think you’re immature, or because it's my job. I fuss over you because I love you, and I want you to be okay.’’ He said gently.

He slowly reached out then, removing Charles’ good hand and taking his hurt wrist, inspecting it with a bit of a frown as the Prince finally let him do so. He had to move, twist, and pull at it a little, and Charles’ eyes had welled up with tears once the knight finally stopped. ‘’I can’t tell if it’s just badly bruised or broken…’’ He said quietly, sighing deeply as he placed a kiss on Charles’ hand, before slowly letting go. ‘’Please let me take care of you, my love.’’ He asked Charles.

The Prince finally nodded gently, as he put his head down on Max’s shoulder. ‘’I’m sorry. I just…It was my own fault and I didn’t want to seem weak in front of Lord Ricciardo so I just….I’m really sorry I lashed out at you, Maxy.’’ He told his boyfriend. Max smiled lovingly then, wrapping an arm around Charles to pull him a little closer to his side. ‘’I love you, Charles.’’ He said quietly. ‘’You know I can’t stay mad at you for long anyway.’’ He said, chuckling softly.

Charles finally put his wrist down on his lap then, groaning at the sharp pain that it sent through him. ‘’Fuck…it really hurts, Maxy.’’ He admitted, biting his lip a little. ‘’What if it’s broken? How will I ride home?’’ He asked his boyfriend, who chuckled softly in return, leaning down to kiss Charles’ temple. ‘’You’ll be fine, love. You will ride yourself if you can, or you can ride with me, or in a carriage if you can’t hold the reins. We’ll figure something out.’’ He assured his boyfriend.

Charles seemed satisfied with that answer for the moment, cuddling Max and only biting his lip again after a little while. Max’s cure for the moment seemed to consist mostly of giving Charles liquor to numb the pain, and he wasn’t complaining in the slightest. He just cuddled closer to his boyfriend after a little while, the alcohol making him a little giggly as he demanded kisses from the knight, something that Max obliged with easily. They ended up moving to the sofa, with Charles snuggled up in Max’s arms as his hand laid on his stomach so that his wrist wouldn’t move too much.

As usually happened when he was drunk, the alcohol removed some of Charles’ normal inhibitions, and it didn’t take too long for Charles to start asking something that he had wanted to ever since they got to Turon. ‘’Maxy…?’’ He asked quietly, wanting to be sure to have the man’s attention before he asked the question. The knight hummed then, looking down at Charles and gently rubbing his side as he nodded. ‘’Yes, my love?’’ He asked the Prince. ‘’What…what’s the deal between you and Dan? Because…the way that you look at him sometimes is…I don’t like it.’’ Charles said quietly.

Max swallowed thickly for a moment then, his hold on Charles tightening a little as he hadn’t expected that question in the slightest. ‘’I…you noticed that, huh…?’’ He finally asked quietly, chuckling a little to himself. ‘’I mean, I guess that my boyfriend would be the one to notice.’’ He let out a long, deep sigh as Charles turned his head, giving Max a very confused look. ‘’What do you mean?’’ The Prince asked, and Max seemed to hesitate for a moment, before he started to explain.

‘’I…So you know that I lived at Daniel’s for two years, right?’’ Max asked his boyfriend, earning him a small nod in return. ‘’Well, I was there at the age that you…you…that you go through a certain phase in growing up and become interested in people in other ways than just friends?’’ He said, his words sounding more like a question than a statement as it came out. ‘’And I…well…Dan was the age that we are now, and really, really, really hot and gorgeous and so…I developed a bit of a crush on him.’’ Max said, his cheeks bright red as he told Charles the truth.

Charles’ jaw dropped a little as he stared at his clearly embarrassed boyfriend, before he started pouting up at the man. ‘’But you like me more though, right?’’ He asked, suddenly feeling a little insecure at the revelation. It made Max laugh, serving to break the tension of the moment as the knight leaned down to capture Charles’ lips in a gentle kiss. ‘’I have never loved him as I love you, Charles. I promise you. You are the only one in the entire world for me, and that will never change.’’ He assured the man.

He had barely finished speaking, or there was a knock on the door. ‘’Charles, can we come in?’’ Pierre asked, and Max’s eyes widened a little. He was currently still entwined with the Prince on the sofa, and the whole scene looked a little too…romantic for especially Daniel to just walk in on them. Sadly though, Charles did not have such thoughts at the moment, and so he just cuddled a little closer to his boyfriend as he nodded. ‘’Come in!’’ He called back, and Max instantly groaned, quickly removing his hands from Charles’ waist to put them at his sides instead.

Pierre and Daniel entered the room then, with Pierre’s eyes immediately widening and scanning the scene in front of them. His eyes moved from the couple to the empty bottle of liquor on the table, and he seemed to figure out what was going on almost immediately. Daniel though, just started laughing after closing the door behind them. ‘’Well don’t you two look cozy together.’’ He said with a grin, walking over to sit down on the sofa across from the pair.

It made Charles chuckle softly, and he took Max’s hand with his own good one, lacing their fingers together as he smiled brightly. ‘’Yup.’’ He said happily, putting his head down against his boyfriend’s shoulder. Max cleared his throat then, looking between Daniel and Pierre as he tried to think of an explanation. ‘’I uh…I may have given him a little to drink to help numb the pain of his wrist.’’ He told the pair of them. Pierre walked over then, grabbing the bottle and seeing that it was practically empty. ‘’This looks like more than a little, Max. No wonder he’s like this.’’

As if almost on cue, Charles let go of Max’s hand again then, reaching over to the table to grab the last of his drink and finish it. It made Pierre sigh deeply, and the man crouched down next to his best friend with a sad smile. ‘’Sorry for hurting you, Charles.’’ He told the Prince, who shook his head in return. ‘’Nuh uh. It was my fault.’’ He told Pierre. ‘’I was distracted because I was being jealous of Max and Daniel when I saw them together.’’ He explained, and Max instantly tensed. He did not like where this was going at all.

‘’What do you mean, Charles?’’ Daniel asked curiously, a bit of a confused frown on his face. ‘’Well,’’ Charles instantly answered, really having no filter at all anymore. ‘’I saw you and Max together and you seemed so happy and nice and it made me a little jealous so that’s why I lost my focus and fell bad when Pierre swiped my leg.’’ He explained, and Max almost let out a relieved breath, because that seemed to be the end of it. He could still save this. Not so much though, when Charles decided to continue talking.

‘’But then when we got up here we talked about it and Max explained that he only loves me and then he kissed me, so it’s okay now.’’ Charles explained to Daniel, before he turned his head and leaned up, giving a practically frozen Max a quick kiss on the lips. Both Pierre and Max were absolutely stunned. Max especially had not expected any of this. He hadn’t planned on saying a word about Charles to Daniel, but it appeared that now, he really didn’t have a choice anymore.

When he finally shifted his gaze to the Lord, Daniel was sitting back on the couch. He looked slightly surprised, but most of his face had just shifted into a huge grin, and he looked absolutely delighted at what just happened. ‘’Well, if you aren’t just the cutest couple I have ever seen.’’ He said, before he broke into laughter.


	29. Alcohol & Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter here we go!
> 
> Things are going to be heating up again reeeeaaaal soon, so enjoy the relative quiet while it lasts.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know! :D

‘’Well, if you aren’t just the cutest couple I have ever seen.’’ Daniel said, smiling wide as Charles got a little comfier in Max’s arms, seemingly perfectly happy and not really realizing what he had just done. Max was just staring wide-eyed at Daniel, wrapping an arm around Charles on instinct as the Prince cuddled a little closer against him. ‘’I…I…’’ Max stammered as he continued to stare at Daniel, unable to look away, while Pierre frowned a little from the side. ‘’You’re taking this news rather in stride.’’ The Lord noticed, making Daniel shrug a little.

‘’I mean…yeah? Should I be shocked?’’ He asked curiously, smirking a little as he looked back at the couple. ‘’I’ve known that Max was into boys from when he had a crush on me a decade ago and Charles, well…he’s very pretty.’’ Daniel started chuckling then, a little amused at the surprised look that he got from Max at that newest revelation, before he looked back at the Prince. ‘’Well, at least his current state means that his wrist isn’t really hurting him that much anymore.’’

Daniel continued to chuckle a little at Charles’ drunken state, getting up from the couch again then. ‘’But we should probably leave you lovebirds alone now. His Highness looks a little too out of it for us to have a real conversation anyway, and we really just wanted to make sure he was alright.’’ He noted, looking at how Charles seemed to almost fall asleep against his boyfriend as he was held. ‘’Yeah…’’ Max said quietly. He was still very much in shock, both from the fact that Charles had just exposed them, and the fact that Daniel apparently knew all about his crush.

‘’You knew…?’’ He asked the man quietly, earning another chuckle from Daniel in return. ‘’Maxy…you really aren’t as subtle as you think you are.’’ The Lord noted, leaning over to press a kiss to the knight’s head. ‘’Get your boyfriend to eat something and then just go to bed early. We’ll see you in the morning and we can talk then if you want.’’ Max nodded softly in return to the man, giving him a small smile before he looked serious. ‘’Dan, you can’t tell anyone. You know how my family is about…all this…’’ He told the Lord, who immediately nodded.

‘’I know, Maxy. I haven’t told anyone in a decade, I’m not going to start now.’’ Daniel assured his friend, ruffling his hair a little before he stepped back, just watching a drunk, sleepy Charles for a moment with a fond smile. ‘’You could’ve done a lot worse.’’ He noted. ‘’I’m really happy for you.’’ He made Max chuckle a little, and the man nodded softly. ‘’I know.’’ He said quietly, placing a kiss on top of his boyfriend’s before he looked over at Pierre.

‘’Could you get something that we could splint Charles’ wrist with? I don’t want him to hurt himself somehow or make it any worse than it already is.’’ He asked the Lord, who nodded quickly. ‘’Yeah. I’ll run down to the medic and get something.’’ Pierre assured Max, walking out with Daniel. As soon as the two of them had left, Max let out a long, deep sigh as he looked down and gently pushing his fingers through Charles’ hair. ‘’Why are you such a beautiful idiot?’’ He asked quietly.

His words made the Prince giggle, and Charles smiled happily to himself as he cuddled closer to his boyfriend. ‘’I love you too, Maxy.’’ He told the man, leaning up to kiss him again. Max really wasn’t one to say no to his Charles, and so they made out lazily until Pierre came storming back into the room, with Paulo right behind, having failed to stop the Lord and fearing his Prince’s wrath for his failure. As the both of them suddenly entered, Max didn’t have any time to pull away from his boyfriend, causing the Crownsguard’s eyes to widen in surprise when he saw his Knight Commander making out with the Prince he was sworn to protect. He stood as frozen to the ground, begging to the Gods that nobody had noticed him seeing what was happening.

Pierre hadn’t even really noticed that he was followed in, and just rolled his eyes a little at the sight, before the pair of them pulled away and Max sat down a little further away from the Prince so that Pierre could get to work on him. ‘’Charles, I brought you something to stabilize your wrist.’’ He told the Prince, walking over to crouch down next to his best friend and very gently put the splint on his injured limb, stabilizing it. Charles groaned a little at the pain, looking down at his wrist, which had by then turned a slightly purple looking colour, and sighed deeply. ‘’It hurts.’’ He whined.

‘’I know it does, but this will help to not make it worse.’’ Pierre told his friend, placing a kiss on Charles’ cheek and giving him a loving smile before he finally got up again. ‘’I’ll send some food up for you so you can have dinner, but then I want you to get into bed and rest for the rest of the evening, okay?’’ He demanded from the Prince, who finally nodded after a deep sigh. ‘’Fiiiiiine.’’ Charles grumbled. ‘’I love you, Pierre.’’ He added, making the Lord smile. ‘’Love you too, Charles.’’ He replied, leaning down to kiss his best friend’s head, before he turned to leave, looking a little surprised when he saw Paulo suddenly standing there.

‘’Oh, hello there...’’ He told the man, giving him a small smile as he walked past to leave. Max had been a little busy with Charles, but he instantly looked over when Pierre addressed the Crownsguard. How long had he been standing there? He had to have followed Pierre inside, the door hadn’t opened since then…Max immediately got a familiar, sinking feeling in his stomach, and he felt almost scared as he stared at the knight. He couldn’t show weakness though. Not now. 

Paulo immediately turned around to follow Pierre outside, only to stop dead in his tracks as Max cleared his throat. ‘’Paulo.’’ He said, his voice cold and serious as he spoke up. ‘’Stay, please. I’d like a word with you.’’ He demanded. The knight swallowed thickly then, his life practically flashing before his eyes as he figured that Max was going to murder him now. ‘’O-of course, sir.’’ He finally replied, turning back around and looking down at the ground as he waited. Pierre looked at the scene for a moment, an eyebrow raised, but finally left, deciding that he really wanted nothing to do with whatever this was.

Max slowly got up then and walked away from Charles, after whispering to the man that he would be right back and that he loved him, but quiet enough for Paulo not to overhear. He walked over to the knight then, pulling him aside and crossing his arms as he stared him down. ‘’What did you see when you came in, Paulo?’’ He demanded, while Paulo tried to look anywhere except Max’s eyes. ‘’I….I…I didn’t see anything, sir.’’ He told the Knight Commander, making Max only narrow his eyes more. He knew a liar when he heard one, and Paulo was definitely holding back here. ‘’What…did you see?’’ He demanded again, almost a growl to his voice as he spoke.

Paulo swallowed thickly then, realizing that there wasn’t really any way out of this. ‘’I…I saw you kissing His Highness, sir.’’ He finally admitted quietly, making Max sigh deeply and put his face in his hands. ‘’Fuck…I feared as much.’’ He mumbled. Paulo found some of his bravery then, clearing his throat to get Max’s attention, as the Knight Commander had by now looked away and was mumbling a little to himself. ‘’Sir…I don’t mean to be rude, but…we all know. The Crownsguard that is. We don’t talk about it because it is a private matter and we are sworn to protect His Highness and all of his secrets, as you well know. We would die for His Highness before sharing any of his secrets. You know you can trust all of us.’’

Max looked back at Paulo then, both a little proud that he was speaking up in this way, and very surprised over the fact that apparently the entire regiment knew. ‘’I see…’’ He said quietly. The fact that he really hadn’t noticed that all of his men already knew made Max blush slightly, and he bit his lip for a moment. ‘’Well…It would force us to sneak around a lot less…’’ He admitted with a bit of a breathy laugh. ‘’Thank you for telling me, Paulo.’’ He told the man honestly. ‘’And really all of you know?’’ He added, just to be sure.

Paulo nodded. ‘’Yes, sir. All of us know, and all of us are at your service. Both you and His Highness’. Whatever you need.’’ He assured the man. Max let out a bit of a relieved sigh, and he could feel some of the tension leaving his body as he couldn’t help himself and took Paulo into a hug. ‘’Thank you.’’ He told his knight, smiling as he pulled back. ‘’I will let you know or the others know when I am in with His Highness from now on, so you can make sure that nobody finds out. Now go, please. I need to take care of Charles.’’

Paulo nodded quickly. ‘’Of course, sir. Call for me if you need anything.’’ He told Max, before he walked away, stopping for a moment to bow to Charles before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed, Charles let out a bit of a whine, pouting over at his boyfriend. ‘’Maxy, come back. I wasn’t done kissing you!’’ He told the man, who fondly rolled his eyes and walked back over. ‘’You are ridiculous.’’ Max chided the Prince, leaning down to kiss him again. ‘’And I love you.’’

‘’Love you too.’’ Charles mumbled, his face nuzzled into Max’s chest as soon as the man sat back down next to him on the couch. The Prince let out a long, pleased sigh as he breathed in his boyfriend and cuddled with him. ‘’You’re a really sappy drunk, you know that?’’ Max asked quietly, a loving smile on his face as he gently played with Charles’ hair. ‘’No, you’re drunk.’’ The Prince replied, before he started to giggle a little at himself. They stayed like that for a little while longer, until there was a knock on the door, and a maid asked permission to come inside and serve dinner.

Max quickly managed to get up without too much protest from Charles this time around, letting the maid in and ushering her out again as quickly as possible once the food was on the table. He made sure the Prince ate enough then, before finally helping him undress and ushering him into bed. He sat down on the edge, tucking Charles in while the Prince pouted a little at him. ‘’Why aren’t you coming in with me, Maxy?’’ He asked quietly, making the knight hum softly as he reached out to play with his boyfriend’s hair.

‘’Do you really want me to?’’ He asked, chuckling when Charles instantly nodded. ‘’Alright, love.’’ He replied. He didn’t undress himself, given that he planned on going for a bit of a walk outside as soon as Charles was asleep, but he got in next to the Prince, cuddling close and giving him a soft kiss. ‘’You close your eyes now, my love. Sleep tight.’’ He told him quietly. 

Charles instantly cuddled in nice and close to his boyfriend, his eyes almost immediately falling shut as he drifted off into a much needed sleep. Max stayed for a little while, watching Charles sleep and asking himself how he could be so lucky as to have this beautiful man love him so much. When he was absolutely sure that Charles was asleep, Max very gently slipped out of bed, tucking Charles in again before he finally left the room. 

Paulo and James, another young knight in Charles’ Crownsguard, were on duty, and he nodded at them as he walked out. ‘’I’m going to go out and clear my head. Keep an eye on him and send for me if he needs me. I’ll probably be around the stables.’’ He informed the pair, before he turned around and walked off, finding his way through the castle and finally to the outside grounds. He decided to walk to the stables, just like he had told Paulo and James, planning to visit Bella and see how his horse was doing.

It was a nice, warm evening in Turon, a huge contrast to the biting cold they had experienced up in Skoedal. Max breathed it all in, a small smile on his face that instantly faded again as his mind inevitably wandered back to home. He had lied to Charles that morning, when he had asked about how he was doing. Again. It was hurting him to do it, and he absolutely hated it, but he didn’t have a choice. He just didn’t. It would put everyone in danger. Max walked over to Bella when he finally reached the stables, gently petting her and sighing happily. ‘’You always know how to calm me down, don’t you, girl?’’ He asked his horse quietly.

‘’What are you worrying about now?’’ Lando suddenly asked, and Max nearly jumped a mile into the air as he was startled. ‘’Gods…Lando…You nearly gave me a heart attack, mate.’’ He said, sending his friend into absolute hysterics as he laughed at Max. ‘’I know. Totally worth it.’’ He replied, continuing to laugh a little as he walked over and gave the knight a tight hug.

‘’Question still stands though. You come and see Bella when you need a think, so spill it. Talk to your boy Lando.’’ The stableboy told his friend with a warm smile. Max sighed softly then, shaking his head a little. ‘’Tell me how you are, first. We haven’t really had much time to talk. Are you settling in alright? Everyone good to you?’’ He asked curiously, making Lando chuckle a little.

‘’Do you really think they wouldn’t be nice to me after a very menacing Lord Max Verstappen seemed to tell them all that they could either be nice to me…or else?’’ Lando asked with an amused smile. ‘’They’ve all been great so far, Max. Thank you.’’ He assured his friend. ‘’And I’m really enjoying taking care of Bella again. I’ve missed her, too.’’ 

‘’I’m glad to hear it!’’ Max said happily, smiling brightly as he gently patted Bella, before letting out a long, deep sigh as he finally decided to tell Lando the truth. ‘’I’m lying to Charles.’’ He finally said quietly, closing his eyes for a moment. He could almost hear Lando frowning next to him, and a heavy silence filled the space before the stableboy finally spoke up. ‘’Why…? About what?’’ He asked Max, sounding confused. 

‘’I…Before we left Oyoria, I had a talk with my father. I didn’t want to, but he basically forced me to sit down with him. And he…He told me something that now makes me feel constantly worried and paranoid and I think I might be going insane. And I can’t tell Charles about it because if he knew it would start a war.’’ Max explained to his friend. Really, Lando was the only person in the world that he trusted with this information. He knew what his life had been like, he was just as much an outcast of their culture as he was, and they had been friends for a decade.

Lando frowned deeply as he listened to Max’s words. ‘’What did he tell you, Max…?’’ He asked quietly, understanding the gravity of the situation. ‘’It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, but…I might be able to help you.’’ He explained to the knight. Max sighed again, clearly hesitating for a moment, before he finally nodded softly. ‘’Promise me that you will never tell a soul what I am about to tell you, Lando. Nobody else in the entirety of Astral knows this.’’ Lando quickly nodded in return, looking very serious. ‘’Yes, of course. I promise.’’ He said quickly.

‘’So you’re aware of the recent attack on the King and his entourage, including Charles and myself, right?’’ Max asked, making Lando nod softly in return as he listened closely. ‘’My father told me that he is the one responsible for that attack, and that the goal was to kill the King.’’ He said solemnly. Lando’s eyes widened as he stared at Max, and his jaw fell open a little from the shock. He seemed frozen like that for almost a full minute, before he seemed to find his voice again. ‘’Y-you have to tell the Prince.’’ He finally said.

‘’What if your father tries again? What if he attempts to kill Charles? Or you?’’ Lando asked, seemingly incredibly worried. ‘’Lando. I can’t.’’ Max said, looking pained as he said it. ‘’You have no idea how much I want to. How much I want to stop lying to the man I love. But if I tell him, Lorenzo will start a war. Thousands of people will die because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. My father might hurt my mother and my sister. I…I can’t have anyone get hurt because of me again, Lando. I just can’t do it.’’ He told the man. Max’s breathing was trembling a little at this point, his trauma on full display again as Lando stepped into his space and hugged his friend tightly.

‘’Calm down, Max.’’ Lando said quietly, gently rubbing the man’s back as he held him for a moment. ‘’I understand how hard this is for you, but if Charles or his family are in danger, you can’t keep this information from them forever.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I know…’’ Max said quietly, holding on tightly to Lando, the hug really helping to ground him a little. ‘’I just need some time, Lando. With Charles, I can finally be happy. I was going to be happy. And with one sentence, my father ruined that, too. I can protect them, I’m sure of it. He won’t get to them, not while I am alive.’’

Lando sighed deeply as he pulled away, giving Max a small smile as he looked the man in the eye. ‘’Will you promise me that you will tell Charles at some point? If he finds out and you haven’t told him…Do you think that that is something that he could ever forgive you for? You will have hidden his brother’s would-be murderer from him, that’s not a small thing.’’ Max nodded softly in response, smiling sadly. ‘’I will, I promise.’’ He said quietly. ‘’Just…when I need to. I want to enjoy my time with him in peace now that I still can.’’ 

Lando wasn’t entirely satisfied with the answer that he got from Max, but he decided to leave it there, at least for the time being. The two spent some more time together, caring for Bella together and just hanging out with each other like old times. Finally, Max decided that it was time to head back up, so he hugged Lando goodbye and made his way back upstairs.

The heavy weight of knowing his father’s plans was still there on his shoulders, but it felt good that there was at least someone out there that Max could talk to about it. He nodded at Paulo and James when he returned to Charles’ rooms, and smiled lovingly when he found the Prince still sleeping soundly. ‘’I love you.’’ He whispered to the man, placing a kiss on his forehead, before he undressed himself and slipped in next to his boyfriend.

He watched Charles for a little while longer, sighing deeply as he thought about all the possible outcomes of telling the Prince, practically all of which were even worse than the one before it. He finally fell asleep like that, dreaming of heartbreak and war, with his boyfriend sleeping at his side.


	30. Lavender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh, it feels like so, so long since I've updated. At least compared to my usual rate :p  
> I've just been extremely busy with....well life.
> 
> Anyway, new chapter! We're heading home again everyone! With the introduction of a very special, lovely new character. I'm excited to hear how you feel about him! :D
> 
> Love you all <3

When he woke up the next morning, the first thing that Charles felt was the pounding in his head, before he felt the stinging pain in his wrist. It made him groan out loud, putting his healthy hand on his head as he attempted to nuzzle into Max’s chest a little further and shield himself from the rays of the sun that threatened to split his poor head open. As he did, he could hear chuckling above himself, and he nearly gasped in indignation. How dare Max find his misery entertaining?

Charles slowly opened his eyes then, glaring up at Max who smiled down in return at his boyfriend and placed the softest, little kiss on his forehead. ‘’Goodmorning, my love.’’ He said quietly. ‘’You sound like you’re not having an amazing time.’’ He added, chuckling a little more as Charles just groaned again. ‘’My head hurts. And my wrist hurts. And I hate it.’’ The Prince mumbled in return. He still sounded very sleepy, and Max thought that his boyfriend was being absolutely adorable. 

The knight looked down at Charles’s wrist then, humming softly as he inspected it. It was a deep, dark purple at this point, but at least the initial swelling had gone down a little. ‘’Is there anything that I can do for you, Charles?’’ Max asked quietly. It stayed quiet for a while, and Max was about to repeat his question, fearing for a moment that Charles had fallen back asleep, but the Prince finally answered. ‘’I want kisses and cuddles.’’ He mumbled, moving his head so that he could pout up at his boyfriend.

Max started laughing a little at the sight, before he leaned in and kissed Charles gently. ‘’I love you so much.’’ He whispered. ‘’And I really hope that you’ll feel better soon.’’ He let his fingers run back and forth over the Prince’s back as they kissed lazily, and it was only a few minutes later that Charles suddenly pulled away, gasping and with wide eyes. ‘’Maxy….?’’ He asked quietly, making the knight look very confused all of a sudden. ‘’Yes…? Is something wrong, love? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost…’’ Max replied, getting a little worried.

‘’I…will you please tell me that what I suddenly remember from last night is just a dream? And that I didn’t tell Daniel about our relationship…?’’ The Prince asked his boyfriend, nervously chewing a little on his lip as he stared into Max’s eyes. The knight looked a little relieved for a moment, clearly having worried that this had been something a lot worse, before his face softened and he just smiled at his Charles. ‘’You did tell him.’’ Max said quietly, causing Charles to instantly wince. Really, Charles wanted to yell his love for Max from the rooftops, but he couldn’t. Because Max had asked him not to. And he had betrayed his trust. Again.

He looked away then in shame, looking down and away from Max until he suddenly felt a hand on his cheek. ‘’Charles?’’ Max asked gently, waiting patiently for the Prince to meet his eyes. When he finally did, the knight smiled gently, leaning in again to place a kiss on Charles’ forehead. ‘’It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about, I promise. No, I don’t necessarily love it that someone else knows, but it’s Dan. We can trust him. I’m not mad at you.’’ He assured his boyfriend.

Charles let out a long sigh then, a little in relief, but mostly with disappointment at himself. ‘’I’m still very sorry.’’ He told his boyfriend, cuddling a little closer to him as he stared at his purple coloured wrist. ‘’Do you think it’s broken?’’ He asked quietly. It made Max sigh a little, and he shrugged. ‘’I honestly don’t know, my love. I’m not a healer or a medic. But from experience…’’ He gently took Charles wrist then, slowly moving it around a little and watching the Prince closely for his reaction.

Charles winced at the feeling, clearly in pain, but Max smiled. ‘’This seems good. I think if it were broken you would’ve cried out in pain, love.’’ He told the Prince, who groaned. ‘’It still hurts like hell though…’’ He complained, making Max laugh a little. ‘’Do you remember when you made me tell you all about my scars? Imagine how much those hurt, Charles.’’ He chided, while the Prince huffed. ‘’It’s not my fault that I’ve never broken anything before and am too good a swordfighter to get hurt.’’

Those words sent Max into absolute hysterics, and he really only stopped when he managed to look at Charles for long enough to see the anger on his face, and the realization that the Prince had actually been serious suddenly hit him. ‘’Oh gods. Love…I…I’m sorry I just can’t really see you as a fighter. You’re just so sweet and lovely and smart. Not a big oaf like me.’’ He tried to explain himself, and Charles just rolled his eyes. ‘’As excuses go, that wasn’t a terrible one.’’ He admitted, ending the subject with a quick kiss on Max’s lips.

‘’Wait…why do I remember you going off to talk with Paulo, too?’’ Charles then asked with a bit of a frown, as the fuzzy memories from the night before still continued to really get through in his mind. It made Max sigh, and he chewed on his lip for a moment as he considered whether to really share the information with the Prince. Finally, he decided that he really couldn’t hold back. ‘’Well the quick summary of it is that Paulo shared with me that we don’t have to sneak around the Crownsguard anymore…because they know. All of them…’’ Max shared reluctantly.

‘’They WHAT?!’’ Charles called out, his eyes wide again as he stared up at Max in completely shock. ‘’But we’ve been so…We took all precautions…How did they…?’’ He asked with a pout. ‘’Well…’’ Max started, unsure really of how to continue. ‘’Beside the fact that we have adjacent rooms and they’re not absolute idiots…we uhm…we’re apparently not the quietest when we…when we fuck.’’ He finally settled on, deciding not to sugar-coat the thing too much.

Charles’ mouth dropped fell open as he stared at Max, and he stayed silent for such a long time that Max was starting to worry a little. ‘’Are…are you okay, Charles…?’’ He asked quietly. The Prince blinked a few times then, before sucking in a deep breath. ‘’You’re telling me that the guards that I trust with my life have heard us having sex…?’’ He asked quietly. Max could only nod softly in return, making Charles groan loudly as he let his head fall back down onto his boyfriend’s chest. ‘’I can never look any of them in the eye ever again.’’ He complained.

Max chuckled softly at the way Charles was taking this and started to gently rub his back. ‘’It’s okay, love. You’ll be able to in time. And you know that we can trust them, I selected them all myself after all.’’ He assured the Prince. ‘’Although…the list of people that know about us really seems to keep growing constantly…’’ He told Charles, sighing deeply. They had to close ranks now. They needed to make sure that nobody else would figure this out, or they would risk it getting everywhere, even up to Skoedal. 

‘’I want to tell my family.’’ Charles finally said, and that was really not something that Max had expected to hear. ‘’You…what…?’’ He asked quietly. He looked down at the Prince to see him biting his lip a little, but he seemed determined. ‘’I want to tell them. I love you and I want to be with you forever and if everyone else knows then I want them to be in the loop, too. I don’t want to hide you from them anymore.’’ He said quietly. ‘’Why do we have to be less happy than we can be, Maxy? If we can trust Daniel and the guards, then we can definitely trust my family.’’

As shocked as he was, Max really did not have any good counterargument against Charles’ reasoning. He stayed silent for a moment as he though it through, before finally nodding. ‘’Okay.’’ He said quietly. ‘’But what if they disapprove though…?’’ He asked the Prince. ‘’What if they want you to break up with me because I’m not right for you, not worthy?’’

Max’s words caused Charles roll his eyes. ‘’They would never.’’ He said decidedly. ‘’And even if they did for some unfathomable reason, then I still don’t care. Because you’re my Maxy and I love you.’’ Max was about to tell the Prince just how much he loved him in return, but there was a knock on the door, and Paulo walked in just after, bowing deeply. ‘’Goodmorning, Your Highness. Lord Gasly has sent breakfast for the both of you up. Might I suggest that the Knight Commander move to another room for the moment as to not reveal yourselves to the maid?’’

Charles sat up then with a sigh, gesturing for Max to leave their bed, which the knight immediately did, retreating to the other room. ‘’I don’t appreciate you just barging in here, Paulo. You wait for me to allow you in. Understood?’’ He demanded, earning himself an earnest nod from the knight in return. ‘’Good. You can let my breakfast in now.’’ He added, sending the knight on his way again, very much without mentioning the events of the prior evening.

He got Max back in the room as soon as he could, having breakfast with his boyfriend in peace. Max tried to insist a couple of times on helping Charles, but the Prince had very much decided that he didn’t need any help. It made that there was a bit of tension in the room between them as they ate, but it thankfully went away as soon as they finished and went to get ready for the day.

The next two days in Turon were incredibly uneventful. Charles rested his wrist as much as he could, which meant that he really just hung out with Pierre the entire time, and very much tried to avoid Daniel, because the whole situation just seemed to be incredibly awkward and he really didn’t want to deal with that. It thankfully turned out that his wrist wasn’t broken, just seriously bruised, and the Prince, despite Max’s protests against it, decided two days later that they would be departing for the capital the very next day. He just really wanted to go home, see Ziara, and tell his family about the man he loved so much.

The rest of the day was spent getting everyone packed and ready. That meant the original members of their party of course, but both Daniel and Pierre were going to come along to the capital as well, to join in on the upcoming birthday celebrations of the King. They were finally able to depart the next morning, with their entire legion guarding them for the three day journey back home. Charles found that he got more excited by the day. He broke into a wide grin the moment that the capital city of Hyla finally came into view and sighed happily. ‘’Home.’’ He said, looking over at his boyfriend for a moment, giving him a loving smile.

The streets were lined with people as they rode back in, everyone very excited to greet their Prince again after he had been away for almost two whole months. The Royal Family was standing on the steps leading up to the palace as they rode into the place gates, and Charles almost immediately jumped off of his horse, practically forgetting protocol as he approached his family. He remembered just in time though, and kneeled in front of his brother, although the smile on his face remained.

‘’Little brother. Welcome home.’’ Lorenzo said happily. ‘’Rise. Come and give us a hug. We’ve all missed you very much.’’ He told Charles. The Prince rose as soon as he got permission, hugging Lorenzo tightly first, before moving on to his mother and Arthur. ‘’I’ve missed you all, too.’’ He told them, sighing happily as he looked at them. ‘’And I’m so happy to be home again. You wouldn’t believe how cold it is up there.’’ Both Pascale and Arthur laughed at Charles’ words, and they immediately started a conversation on how the trip had been.

By then, Max had also dismounted, and was bowing before Lorenzo, who smiled. ‘’Welcome back, Max. I hope that you enjoyed your trip home. Did you show Charles around well enough?’’ He asked curiously. Max forced a smile then as he nodded, getting back onto his feet. ‘’I did, yes. Thank you for asking, Your Majesty.’’ He told Lorenzo, who nodded at the knight, before turning his head back towards his little brother. ‘’Charles?’’ He asked, waiting a moment for the Prince to finish his conversation and shift his attention, before he continued.

‘’We received a visitor three days ago for you. It’s…it’s really a little tough and long to explain, but he is currently down in the vaults with Ziara and George. I assume that you can find him there, too.’’ Charles looked a little confused at his brother’s words, and hummed. ‘’Can I go down there now? Assuming you don’t need me anymore? I really want to go see her anyway.’’ He said, hopeful that his brother would allow him to go and see his little girl.

Lorenzo smiled fondly in return, before he nodded. ‘’Of course you can. Just don’t be shocked at how much she’s grown. She’s quite the dragon already, I can tell you that. George really has had his hands full with her.’’ Charles chuckled a little at that and smiled widely. ‘’Alright.’’ He said happily, before turning to Max. ‘’Can you please make sure that everything is taken care of with our things? We’ll talk later, I’m going to see Ziara.’’ He told the knight, before he was off, Max unable to get a single word in before Charles was out of earshot.

The Prince quickly made his way down to the dragon vault, hurrying through the palace into the secluded tunnels and finally past the seaside cliffs, to reach the vault itself. The men standing guard immediately let Charles through, and as he walked into the section that had been transformed into Ziara’s quarts, he gasped softly. He of course instantly recognized his own, scarlet red dragon, and he grinned as he clapped his hands. She was by now the size of a small horse, but he could worry about that later. ‘’Ziara! Here girl!’’ He called out.

The dragon was currently busy being fed by George, but as soon as she heard her rider’s voice, even food wasn’t important anymore. The dragon let out what sounded like a shriek of delight as she turned to face him, before she stormed over. Ziara almost immediately tackled the Prince to the ground, standing over him and slobbering his face with her forked tongue again and again. She was just so absolutely overjoyed to see her rider again. She had quite clearly missed him terribly.

‘’Woooooh, girl. Don’t crush him to death now.’’ George said, laughing happily as he helped Charles to push Ziara away enough for the Prince to get up. Charles hugged his dragon tightly then, sighing happily as he felt the familiar heat of her scales again as she nuzzled back into him. ‘’I missed you too, sweetie.’’ He said quietly. He hugged her for a minute or so, before pulling away to give George to exact same treatment. ‘’And you!’’ He said happily. ‘’Any escapades you’ve had that I need to hear about?’’ He asked curiously, making the man laugh happily. 

‘’Loads, if I’m honest. But everything that I can tell you falls into absolute nothing compared to what the guy who arrived here a couple days ago can.’’ George added, and Charles frowned again. ‘’Yeah, Lorenzo mentioned something like that. Who are you talking about?’’ He asked curiously. He suddenly heard a throat being cleared behind himself then, someone having entered the vault behind him. He could see Ziara react to the noise, and she seemed to be delighted at who it was.

As Charles turned around, the first thing that the Prince noticed were his eyes. There were a vibrant lavender-like colour. Unnatural almost. At least nothing like Charles had ever seen before. He was wearing leathers, but not armour, more so as a fashion choice. They were dyed a deep black with red detailing, and the style was once again unlike anything that Charles had seen anyone in Astral wear. ‘’That person would be me.’’ The stranger said. His eyes were kind, and he had a small smile on his face that made the Prince trust him almost implicitly.

‘’And who are you, why are you in here…?’’ Charles asked then, wondering very much who this man was, and where the hell he had come from.

‘’My name is Alexander, Lord dragon rider. Of the Albon dynasty. I have come from the land of your ancestors to be your mentor as a dragon rider.’’


	31. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another new chapter! Aren't I spoiling you all this week? :D  
> Apparently I have refound my groove now that I'm back home in my apartment, where no family is around to disturb me.
> 
> Anyway, the new chapter! I'm excited! Really introducing Alex and who he is, and a very exciting latter half of the chapter. Ugh, I just love these idiots, so, so, so much!!!!!!!! <3
> 
> The real question then is, will George be able to have sex with Alex? Place your bets now :p

‘’My name is Alexander, Lord dragon rider. Of the Albon dynasty. I have come from the land of your ancestors to be your mentor as a dragon rider.’’

Charles stared at the man with wide eyes for a moment, his mouth dropping open slightly before he managed to regain his composure. ‘’I…wow…you’re actually from Draconia?’’ He asked the man, who nodded in return. He had a gentle smile on his face as he looked at Charles, and the moment felt like something genuinely important. That all ended though when George snorted from behind the Prince.

‘’I’m sorry. I just still cannot get over how unimaginative that name is. Lads, what should we name our country with dragons? I know, Draconia!’’ George continued to chuckle after he spoke, while Alex stared over at him, looking extremely unimpressed with the man.

‘’You actually have it completely backwards. Our country is not named after dragons. Its name is where you have derived your word ‘dragon’ from. I doubt that you speak High Draconian, but our word for these magnificent creatures is very different.’’ As if to emphasize his words, Alex turned to Ziara then, gently scratching underneath her chin as he quietly spoke to her in a language neither George nor Charles could understand in the slightest. 

Ziara seemed to enjoy it a lot though, judging by the way she was leaning into the scratches and happily cuddled with Alex a little. Charles meanwhile, had turned back to George with a bit of a smirk. ‘’About time that someone put you in your place. Don’t insult our guest by being a dick.’’ The Prince told his friend, who was still staring at their visitor as he bit his lip a little.

‘’Fuck, that was really hot though, wasn’t it?’’ George asked quietly. ‘’He is really hot. I would…I really want to get with him. He’s so smart and his eyes and…he’s already taught me so much. I want to have sex with him, but like…in a ‘I really respect him so much please fuck me’ kind of way. You know what I mean?’’ He told the Prince, who just sighed deeply.

‘’You’re unbelievable.’’ Charles told his friend, shaking his head a little as he turned back and walked over to Alex and Ziara, gently petting his dragon when he reached them. ‘’She seems to really like you a lot.’’ He told the man, who smiled brightly. ‘’She likes the rest of your family too, doesn’t she?’’ Alex asked in return, making Charles frown. ‘’I…yes, she does, but…what are you talking about? You and I are not family.’’

Alex chuckled a little then, smiling as Ziara’s attention shifted away from him and back to her rider, nuzzling into him before she started to try and draw Charles’ attention to the food George had brought earlier. ‘’Fine, fine. I’ll feed you.’’ The Prince told her with a happy laugh, walking over to the large basket of meat and giving it to Ziara to eat. 

‘’We’re not really family anymore, no. But we do share a bloodline.’’ Alex told Charles then, and the Prince immediately went back into a frown. ‘’You’re really going to have to explain that one to me…’’ He told the man, who chuckled a little and nodded. ‘’I will. See, your ancestor, the one who came to Astral with her dragon and helped the King conquer the entire continent, she was a member of the Albon dynasty of Draconia. Our shared ancestor had two children, a daughter, which would be your ancestor who came over here, and a son, who stayed in Draconia. He is my ancestor.’’

Alex crouched down next to Ziara as he spoke, watching the young dragon eat as he continued. ‘’And so we share the bloodline of my dynasty. We have found in Draconia that only certain families were able to become dragon riders. There is a connection between it and whether a dragon accepts you. And given that we share a bloodline, she can sense it in me. So she likes me, too.’’

‘’That’s insane.’’ George answered before Charles could really put all of his thoughts in the right order. ‘’I had no idea it was a bloodline thing. I mean we always only allowed the Royal family try to become riders, but we all thought it was just because they didn’t want anyone else to have a dragon. This makes a lot more sense though…’’

‘’That…okay yeah, that makes some sense, I guess.’’ Charles told Alex, but he still hummed a little. ‘’Why have only I been able to have an egg hatch then? None of my ancestors were able to before me…’’ He told the man, who nodded. ‘’Besides the bloodline, it is still a question of the dragon picking their rider. And she has clearly been waiting for you for the last three hundred years.’’ Alex explained to Charles, who smiled lovingly at his dragon and kissed her head as she tore a sheep apart for her lunch.

‘’You’ll be able to ride her soon if you’re ready for it.’’ Alex said then, and Charles’ eyes immediately widened. ‘’Are you serious? I mean I know that she’s growing like crazy, but really? I can ride her already?’’ The Prince asked excitedly. Alex started laughing immediately at Charles’ excitement and nodded. ‘’Yes. According to George she has already flown a little, but it’s really not a great idea to let such a young dragon fly all on her own. She’s still too young to really understand what she can and can’t do. We don’t want her to go and eat someone else’s animals.’’

Charles was absolutely delighted by this news, and he grinned as Ziara finished her meal and cuddled close to him again. ‘’When can we start?’’ He asked curiously, and Alex chuckled a little. ‘’We need to make you a saddle and harness first. Dragon riding is a dangerous activity, we need to make sure that we don’t accidentally kill the Crown Prince of this land by having him fall off his dragon. I imagine your brother would get a little upset with us.’’

Charles laughed at Alex and nodded. ‘’That seems likely, yes.’’ He told the man. ‘’Okay, so we’ll have the leatherworkers make me a harness and saddle. That’ll probably take a few days if you can tell them how exactly they should do it, I think.’’ Alex nodded in response. ‘’Of course. I’ll do it myself, actually. As you might have noticed, I am not actually a dragon rider myself. In our dynasty, we have two distinct roles. There are the riders, like you, and the guides, like me. I hold the knowledge of centuries and help young riders like yourself with learning everything there is about the craft of dragon riding.’’

Alex looked over at George then, seemingly picking up on the way that the man was looking at him. ‘’Mister Russell. Would you like to help me make these things for the dragon rider?’’ He asked curiously. George seemed taken aback for a moment, before he cleared his throat. ‘’It’s Sir, actually. I have been knighted.’’ He gently informed Alex, stepping closer. ‘’And you should really call him Your Highness, people will be very unamused with you if you don’t. I know from experience.’’

‘’Oh…’’ Alex said, looking slightly confused. ‘’I’m sorry, Your Highness.’’ He told Charles. ‘’I’m not really used to your customs yet. I meant no offense or disrespect.’’ He told the Prince. Charles quickly smiled in return to Alex, nodding. ‘’I know, it’s alright. Nothing to worry about at all.’’ He cuddled with Ziara a little longer, but got up when he was satisfied in the knowledge that she would be with two people she liked a lot as Charles wasn’t there.

‘’I’m going to go back up. There are a lot of things I need to take care of. I just wanted to see her as soon as I got back.’’ Charles told the pair as he got back onto his feet. ‘’Alex, are you joining us for dinner…?’’ He asked curiously. He didn’t exactly know what the arrangement was that Lorenzo had made, but it was normal for high ranking guests to join them. ‘’I would, but I want to get to work on your saddle as quickly as I can. I’ll just ask the kitchens for something later.’’ Alex said with a smile. ‘’Please give the King my apologies.’’

Charles nodded in return. ‘’I will.’’ He told Alex. He gave George a nod, and Ziara a final hug, before he finally left the Dragon vault and made his way back upstairs to the actual palace itself. He found the place quite busy, with everyone returning from the journey getting settled again. He finally found Max up in his rooms, and as soon as the final maid had left after putting Charles’ clothes away, the Prince wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, kissing him deeply.

Max was smiling brightly when Charles finally pulled away, and he hummed softly. ‘’What did I deserve that for?’’ He asked curiously, his arms wrapped snugly around his boyfriend’s waist. ‘’I don’t know.’’ Charles replied with a shrug. ‘’I’m just really happy is all.’’ He told the knight, giving him another quick kiss before he pulled away and went to sit down on the edge of the bed.

‘’So do you think that we could tell my family tonight? At dinner?’’ Charles suddenly asked. He watched Max stiffen a little, and it made the Prince sigh deeply. ‘’You’re not having second thoughts, are you…?’’ He asked the knight, who sighed a little in return and sat down next to his boyfriend, taking his hand. ‘’I’m not.’’ He said quietly. ‘’I trust you, and I trust them. I just…I worry. You know that I do. I can’t help it. So many people know now, Charles. This can’t stay a secret forever, and I’m terrified for the day that it’ll come out.’’

Charles gently squeezed Max’s hand when the knight stopped talking and nodded softly. ‘’I know you’re scared.’’ He told the man. ‘’I’m scared too. But it’s okay. We’ll get through this together. We can get through anything together.’’ Charles smiled as he assured his boyfriend, and really Max was just reminded once more of why he loved this man more than anything else in this world.

‘’I love you.’’ He told the Prince quietly then, leaning in and kissing him softly again. ‘’We’ll tell them at dinner. Together.’’ He finally agreed. ‘’Are you comfortable doing so with Daniel and Pierre there, though? And what about the guest that your brother was talking about…?’’ Max then asked his boyfriend curiously. Charles really just shrugged in response. ‘’I’m the Crown Prince. I can ask for a moment of privacy with my family to talk to them. That’s really not the biggest issue here.’’ He said, giggling a little to himself. ‘’And I love you, too.’’

Max nodded softly then, putting his head down on Charles’ shoulder as he cuddled in a little closer. ‘’Don’t you want to get out of those travel clothes?’’ He asked curiously, smiling a little as the Prince hummed in return and put an arm around Max. ‘’I would…’’ Charles responded. ‘’But I just thought that my boyfriend needed some affection and that is way more important. You are more important to me than anything else. Nothing even comes close’’

Charles’ words made Max sigh happily, and he closed his eyes for a moment. They usually didn’t have the time or the opportunity to be this affectionate with each other during the daytime, so it really was a treat. They stayed like that for a little while, until Max finally pulled away and got up. ‘’Alright then. I need to get settled in with the Crownsguard again and you should go and change. And…maybe you could pick a dinner outfit for me, too? You know that style and fashion are not my strong suits, and I’d really appreciate it.’’ The knight pleaded.

Charles instantly broke into a grin in response, nodding happily as he got up. ‘’It’d be my pleasure.’’ He said happily, pecking Max’s lips before sending the knight on his way. Max had barely left the room, before Charles was taking his travelling clothes and leather armour off, being extremely done with wearing all of that after the past two months. He just really, really wanted to feel like he looked good again. Of course he’d never tell Max that. He’d have to spent hours on end being told exactly what the knight loved about him and his body and while he loved that, this really wasn’t the time.

The Prince let out a long, pleased sigh when he was finally dressed in his regular, silky garments again, gently running his fingers over the fabric as he admired himself in the mirror. When he finally decided that he looked the way that he wanted to, Charles moved over to Max’s room, digging through his clothes until he finally found what he liked. The knight had a lot of clothes in the dark blue colour of his House, but that wasn’t what Charles was going for at all. In the end, he had a seamstress modify one of his own outfits, which consisted of regular dress pants, combined with a red tunic with gold accents, the colours of House Leclerc.

Charles laid them all out for his boyfriend, smiling happily as he looked at them. He wanted to make Max really feel at home. He was going to be a part of their family, and what better way to show it than to wear the House colours? By then, it had gotten late enough for Max to come over to get dressed for dinner, and so the knight showed up shortly after, humming as he looked at the clothes. ‘’Oh…? I don’t remember buying any of these?’’ He asked Charles with an amused smile, while the Prince just looked very hopeful.

‘’You like it thought, right? You can tell me if you don’t. I’ll just go and grab you something else.’’ Charles said quickly. It was quite obvious what he was doing with the colours, and he was a little afraid that Max would end up disliking the whole idea. Instead though, the knight walked closer, giving Charles a kiss and a loving smile as he pulled away. ‘’I love it.’’ He said honestly, immediately proceeding to take his armour off and put the fancy clothes on for his dinner date. 

‘’Gods, this still feels unnatural to me.’’ Max admitted with a chuckle as he finished getting dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. ‘’I feel almost a little exposed if I’m honest.’’ Charles walked up to his boyfriend then, hugging him from behind and kissing his neck. ‘’We’ll save that for later.’’ He told Max with a smirk, chuckling a little to himself as he looked at the man via the mirror. ‘’You look so handsome. And I made sure that our outfits match.’’

Max laughed a little then, turning around and kissing Charles. ‘’Of course you did.’’ He told his boyfriend. ‘’You always think of everything.’’ He took the Prince’s hands for a moment then, giving the man a loving smile. ‘’Shall we?’’ He asked, getting a nod from Charles in return. ‘’Yes, let’s go.’’ They left their rooms then, heading downstairs accompanied by two of the Crownsguard as they walked the distance to the drawing room. 

When they arrived, they found Charles’ family already waiting there, along with Pierre and Daniel, who smiled when they saw the two men walk into the room. ‘’You can always count on Charles to be late to anything, even dinner.’’ Arthur noted with a bit of a smirk. ‘’But did you really have to slow down Max, too?’’ Once Pascale had told Arthur off a little for teasing his brother, they finally all proceeded into the dining room, sitting down for dinner.

Charles had made sure that he was seated with Max on his right side, given the news that they would be announcing that night, while Pierre was seated on his left, because really, he could always use his best friend at his side. Charles had already excused Alex’s absence earlier, so at least that was something that he didn’t have to worry about. The dinner itself went perfectly well. Pierre was pretty much part of the family, so there was absolutely nothing that could go wrong there, while Daniel really was one of the most charming people that ever lived. Nobody could hold a conversation with him and not instantly be taken in by his incredible charms.

Nonetheless, as the dinner progressed and one course followed another, Charles could feel himself growing more nervous by the minute. He hadn’t thought he would be at all. It was just his family, and he was sure that everything was going to be alright. Still though, he felt absolutely terrified. What if they reacted badly, or said something that Charles didn’t agree with? The only thing that really calmed him down was Max.

His Maxy. The man who knew him so, so well. He had picked up almost instantly on the Prince’s nerves, taking his hand underneath the table and squeezing it gently to try and calm him down a little. It did wonders for Charles’ nerves, and once they finished dessert, he had finally found enough courage to do this. As everyone got up to move back over to the drawing room for some drinks, the Prince remained seated.

‘’Excuse me, Daniel, Pierre. Would you mind if I kept Max and my family here for a minute longer? There is something I want to discuss with them in private.’’ Charles told the two men, who quickly nodded and bowed. ‘’Of course, Your Highness.’’ Pierre instantly replied. ‘’We’ll see you all soon.’’ With that, the pair of them left the room, while all of Charles’ family looked a little confused.

‘’Charles, that is a little rude, to send our guests away like that. What can be so important as to keep us all here?’’ Pascale asked with a small frown, while Lorenzo hummed. ‘’Is it something to do with the trip to Skoedal? Is that why Max is here, too?’’ He asked as he sat back down. Charles simply sighed in response to the both of them. ‘’No, it’s…please just listen to me. And please let me say what I want to say without interrupting me.’’

When they finally all nodded, Charles gave Max a quick glance, feeling some renewed courage when the knight sent him an encouraging smile and gently took his hand again underneath the table. ‘’So, you all know that I haven’t really ever been romantically interested in anyone before. And…for a while there, I wondered if there would eventually be anyone that I would see that way. But tonight I want to tell you that it has happened, and that he is the most amazing person in the entire world.’’

Max sucked in a breath as soon as Charles said the word ‘he’. It was more on instinct than anything else, based on his own experiences up in Skoedal, because as he looked at the table, all he could see was happiness. Pascale had already broken into a bright smile at the news that her son had finally fallen in love with someone, while Lorenzo and Arthur seemed more curious than anything else.

Charles too seemed to relax a little at the initial response that the news seemed to get, and so he smiled a little as he continued to speak. ‘’He is the sweetest, most gallant, genuinely kindest person that I have ever met, and…when the circumstances allow it, I fully intend to marry him and make him my husband.’’ The Prince announced to the table. He then took in a deep, final breath, before he finally said the words that he had wanted to say for months now.

‘’Mama, Lorenzo, Arthur, I would like to properly introduce you to Max, my boyfriend and without a doubt the absolute love of my life.’’


	32. Stargazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter the thirty-second!
> 
> In which we have the aftermath of the dinner reveal, stargazing happens, and the boys are just <33333 as usual
> 
> Not gonna lie, did cry a little bit writing this one...see if you can figure out at which part :D

‘’Mama, Lorenzo, Arthur, I would like to properly introduce you to Max, my boyfriend and without a doubt the absolute love of my life.’’ 

As Charles spoke, both Pascale and Lorenzo had the biggest, proudest smiles on their faces, and while Arthur tried his best to seem unimpressed with his brother, it was obvious that he too was feeling very happy for his big brother.

Max too could see the love and acceptance on each of Charles’ family member’s faces, and so he finally allowed himself to relax a little. He smiled lovingly over at his boyfriend, so incredibly proud of him for doing something as brave as this. It should never have been in doubt though. Charles was the strongest person that Max knew, and his family were some of the nicest, most accepting people in the world.

“Oh...” Pascale said as soon as Charles said Max’s name, sounding incredibly surprised and a little shocked, even. The smile faded from her face and made place for a confused frown, and Max suddenly felt a familiar, sinking feeling in his stomach. Rejection.

“So...it’s not Pierre?” Pascale asked her son, who frowned deeply in return, having not expected something like this in the slightest. “What? No. Of course not. Pierre is my best friend. I love him, but not like that. Not like I love Max. What even are you talking about?” He asked his mother, sounding a little defensive.

Pascale’s frowned relaxed a little then, and she gave her son a warm look. ‘’Sorry, sweetheart. I just…You’ve been so close to Pierre for years and I’ve just always thought that there was a little more between the two of you, that’s all…’’ She told her son quietly.

Max’s breath was already trembling as Charles finally took his hand on top of the table. The knight swallowed thickly then. He didn’t need to be told outright, their initial reactions with Charles’ mom in particular had said enough. They wouldn’t accept him. Why would they? He wouldn’t accept him either. A new land, but just as rejected as at home for who he was. They wanted someone else for their Charles. Someone better. Someone who really deserved him. 

“I-I’m sorry.” Max finally said quietly then, almost flipping his chair with the force that he got up with. “I-I need to go.” He let go of Charles’ hand, and was out of the Prince’s reach before the man could even really react. Max did not look back. He left the room almost at a run, slamming the heavy doors of the dining room closed behind him before he started to walk. Aimlessly, almost. He had no idea where he was even going, all he knew was that he needed to be alone.

In the dining room itself, Charles was staring after Max, swallowing thickly and wincing a little as the heavy doors were slammed shut. ‘’Why did you do that?’’ He finally asked, still staring at the doors. It stayed silent, and Charles closed his eyes for a moment, before it was finally Lorenzo who spoke up. ‘’Charles, why don’t y-‘’ He started, only to be interrupted as Charles turned back towards his family and slammed both of his fists down so hard on the table that it nearly seemed to gave in. 

‘’WHY?!’’ He yelled, feeling the anger rising and bubbling through his veins as the seconds passed since Max had left. ‘’Why is you very first reaction to being introduced to the man that I love, to the man that I intend to marry one day, ‘Why is not someone else’?! Do you have ANY idea how that makes me feel?! How that makes Max feel?!’’ He was breathing hard and angrily as he stared at his mother, and Pascale seemed genuinely shocked by how her son was speaking to her.

‘’You all know that Max comes from a place that rejects him for who he is. That would want to kill him for who he is. He can never go back there. I have tried to make this place his home. I want him to feel at home here. It is…I would wish that you would one day accept him as family.’’ Charles let out a bit of a shaky breath then, letting his head hang for a moment. ‘’I have to go after him.’’ He then said, getting up and walking towards the doors to leave.

‘’Charles.’’ Lorenzo called as the Prince started to walked away. ‘’No. I don’t want to hear it right now. I need to go and find Max, see if he’s okay.’’ He told his brother, not even looking at him. ‘’Charles.’’ Lorenzo said again, his tone a lot more determined now. The Prince finally stopped then, sighing for a moment before he turned around, only to instantly be taken up into a tight hug. ‘’I’m proud of you.’’ Lorenzo said quietly.

Charles was surprised for a moment, but he hugged his brother back soon enough, melting into him a little as he was held tightly. Lorenzo smiled at his little brother as he pulled away. ‘’I’m really happy that you’ve found someone who makes you happy, Charles. That’s all that matters. It’s just a bonus that I really like Max, too. Now go on then, go and find him. I’ll get mom to apologize when you guys are ready to come and see us again.’’

Charles nodded softly in response to his brother, taking a deep breath before he finally left the room. He felt a little better after Lorenzo’s words, but not much. In his mind, it had never really been in doubt whether his mother and brothers would ever accept who he was. That was just a given. But his mom had hurt the man that he loved. And that was something that wasn’t just forgiven with a single, sweet smile.

The Prince first went up to his shared quarters with Max, but the knight was nowhere to be found. Nor was he in the stables, where Charles found Lando hard at work. Finally, he just started asking around for anyone who had seen his boyfriend, and he finally found the man in question about an hour later, at the top of the highest watchtower that they had. Charles climbed up the ladder and through the hatch, to find Max sitting on the ground with his back towards him, staring up at the stars in the night sky.

‘’Hi, Charles.’’ Max said quietly as the Prince climbed up and joined him. It made Charles frown a little, and he gave Max a confused look as he sat down next to his boyfriend, taking his hand and putting his head down against the man’s shoulder. ‘’How’d you know that it was me?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’I told the guard that was up here originally that I would kill anyone who came up after me. You’re the only person in the world brave enough to defy me on that.’’ He explained to his boyfriend.

Max was talking at least, but he was still just staring at the sky, not even looking at Charles, and it was bothering the Prince a little. ‘’My mom didn’t mean it like that.’’ He said quietly. ‘’She apparently just thought that I had secretly been hooking up with Pierre for years now or whatever. That has nothing to do with whether she likes you or not.’’ He told the knight, gently placing a kiss on the hand he was holding. Right next to him, Max just sighed deeply and shook his head.

‘’I’ve been lying to myself.’’ Max told Charles quietly. ‘’I’ve been so unbelievably naïve. I wanted to believe, Charles. I wanted to believe so bad that this was my home, that your family would become my family, that I actually did believe it, deep down. But it’s not. And they’re not.’’ Max started laughing humourlessly then, shaking his head on himself. 

‘’I belong nowhere. I have no family. My birthplace won’t accept me because of who I am, and this place cannot accept who I am because of where I was born. I am torn between worlds, Charles. I just don’t know where I belong anymore.’’ 

When Charles moved his head to look up at Max’s face, he saw tears slowly running down his boyfriend’s cheeks. It broke his heart. He could feel tears prickling at his own eyes, but he managed to blink them away. For now, at least. Charles let go of Max’s hand then, moving away from him to position himself on his knees in front of the knight. ‘’Maxy…’’ he said quietly, reaching out to gently take his boyfriend’s hands in his own. 

The Prince gave his boyfriend a gentle, loving smile and leaned in to gently press his lips against Max’s. ‘’You want to know where you belong?’’ He asked quietly, as he pulled away from the kiss. ‘’You belong with me. Right here. Because when we’re together, we can do anything.’’ Charles continued to gently caress Max’s hands as he held them, looking into the man’s eyes to see whether he was getting through to him.

‘’I love you.’’ Max finally whispered. It made Charles smile brightly as Max finally spoke again and met Charles’ eyes. ‘’I love you, too.’’ The Prince immediately answered, leaning in again to kiss his boyfriend passionately. Max pretty much fell backwards with the way that Charles was coming onto him, and the knight ended up on his back, making out with his boyfriend as the Prince laid on top of him.

‘’My Maxy.’’ Charles mumbled against Max’s lips. ‘’My strong, handsome, incredible, sensitive boyfriend.’’ He pulled away slightly to look down into the man’s eyes and bit his lip a little. ‘’I really want to take you back to bed now and have sex. Is that a bad thing?’’ He asked quietly, actually making Max laugh out loud a little as he tightened his hold around Charles’ waist a little.

‘’It’s not bad at all, my love. And while I really want that, we should…’’ Max said, before letting out a long, deep sigh. ‘’We should probably head back to see your family…’’ He pouted a little as he thought about it, closing his eyes for a second. ‘’Are they really mad at me? I acted like someone who they wouldn’t want anywhere near their beautiful Charles…’’ He noted as he gently pushed his fingers through his boyfriend’s growing hair. 

Charles meanwhile, was just staring at Max, a little confused at what the hell he was talking about. ‘’What are you talking about…?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Your reaction was entirely normal. I uh…I yelled at my mom a little after you left…’’ The Prince admitted, a blush slowly appearing on his cheeks as he looked down at Max. ‘’I was just so mad. She hurt you. Nobody is allowed to hurt you ever again. Or they will have to deal with me.’’ 

His words sounded intimidating, but Charles’ blush and the fact that he was now pouting a little meant that Max just chuckled softly. ‘’My hero.’’ He said quietly, kissing Charles again as he gently sat the both of them back up. ‘’I don’t want you to fight with your mom over me though. You’re her little baby. I don’t want to come between that.’’ 

Rolling his eyes in return, Charles slowly got up and offered his hand to Max to help him do the same. ‘’You are my boyfriend. If anyone hurts you, whether or not they are my mother, I will call them out on it. End of discussion.’’ He decided. It made Max smile, and the knight kissed Charles again after getting up. ‘’Alright then, love. But we should go and see them nonetheless. If just to make sure that they know we’re okay.’’ 

Charles hummed softly then, opening the hatch again as he started to make his way down again. ‘’And if my mom doesn’t apologize to you then I’ll just yell at her again. Or do something else that makes her feel bad. I’m very good at making people feel guilty.’’ Max just shook his head then, asking himself just why he had fallen in love with such a beautiful idiot.

Once they were back down in the palace, Charles first made sure that the both of them were perfectly presentable, before they made their way back towards the drawing room, where they assumed Charles’ family, as well as Pierre and Daniel, would still be. It was a bit of a walk through the vast hallways that made up the Royal Palace, but they finally reached the drawing room, with two guards opening the doors for them as they approached.

As soon as they entered, Charles snapped his fingers, getting the attention from all of the servants in the room. ‘’Thank you. That will be all for now.’’ He told them. After bowing, every last one of them left, and Charles took a deep breath as the last one closed the door behind himself. He reached out then, taking Max’s hand and lacing their fingers together as they approached the others, who had fallen completely silent when the couple had entered the room.

‘’Charles.’’ Pascale said, clearly relieved to see her baby boy after what had happened in the dining room. ‘’Max.’’ She then greeted, giving the knight a sweet smile as Charles walked them towards an empty couch and sat down with his boyfriend, cuddling close against his side. ‘’Mama.’’ The Prince finally replied, giving her a bit of a cold look for the time being, to indicate that he hadn’t yet forgiven her for earlier.

Pascale was still looking a little confused, and her eyes kept darting back from the couple on the couch over at Pierre and Daniel. ‘’They know.’’ Charles finally said. ‘’I just wanted them out of the room earlier because I wanted to tell you in private, that’s all.’’ He informed his mother, who sighed deeply. 

‘’Charles, Max, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend either of you, honestly. I just…I was a little surprised. You can understand that, can’t you?’’ Pascale then asked, and while Charles still felt a lot of anger bubbling inside of him, it was Max who spoke up. ‘’It’s okay.’’ He told her with a kind smile. ‘’It was a little too overwhelming for me, too. That’s why I had to leave.’’ He explained, before he gently took Charles’ hand in his own, placing a small kiss on it. ‘’The important thing is that you all know now, and…that I hope you’re happy for us?’’

‘’What kind of a stupid question is that?’’ Arthur suddenly asked, his first real contribution to all of this. All of the head suddenly turned in his direction, and he just chuckled a little as he sipped from his drink. ‘’You’re nice, you’re a super good fighter, and you clearly make Charles happy. How could we not be happy for you?’’ He asked. ‘’As long as you, you know…don’t start making out in front of me. Charles making out with anyone is really not something I want to witness, ever.’’

Charles finally started laughing again then and just grinned over at his brother. ‘’Love you too, Arthur.’’ He told the Prince, who just shrugged in return and continued to sip his drink. It turned out that Arthur’s comment really had helped a lot to relax everyone a little again, and return a relaxed atmosphere to the room. 

The rest of the evening was spent by Max and Charles explaining the timeline and intricacies of their relationship, with a bit of a focus on the ways they had tried to keep things a secret over the past couple of months. They left out some of the more important details of course, because nobody had to know about Max’s secrets, or what they had gone through up in Skoedal.

As the hour grew later, people started to head off to bed, until it was finally just Max, Charles, and Lorenzo who remained in the room. Charles’ head was by now against Max’s shoulder, holding the man’s right hand in his own as his left was wrapped around him. ‘’So does anyone up in Skoedal know? Your Family?’’ Lorenzo finally asked, having the chance to ask some more pointed questions now that everyone else had gone to bed for the night.

Max sighed then, shaking his head. ‘’No. We haven’t told them. And we really can’t ever tell them. My father would…I think he would try and have me killed. Or Charles, even.’’ It was as much as a hint as Max could give, both about his father’s thoughts about homosexuality, and the fact that he would try and kill the Royals again in a heartbeat. 

‘’Then…how do you ever intend to get married if you do not want to tell them…? You can’t just get married in secret. Not if you want a real, proper marriage.’’ Lorenzo replied, and Max started to chew on his lip a little as he thought about how to answer. Before he could come up with something though, Charles beat him to it. ‘’We can wait for as long as it takes to think of something or do something about it. All that matters to me is that this man is the love of my life and I never want to be without him ever again.’’

Lorenzo finally sighed after a moment. ‘’I understand that is how you feel, Charles. But in the end that is just sentiment. You have to assume, you both do, that this is going to come out at some point. And you need to be ready for when it does. You need to make sure that you are prepared to live with whatever the consequences are for when it does.’’ He told them, giving the both of them a serious look, before he smiled.

‘’But that still doesn’t change the fact that I’m really happy for both of you. You make a really cute couple.’’ Lorenzo told them, before he too got up from his chair. ‘’I’m going to call it a night, too. Think about what I said and I’ll see you both again tomorrow. My door is always open if you need any advice.’’ With that, he finally left, and the pair of them were alone in the room.

‘’He’s right.’’ Max said quietly. ‘’We need to start planning for what happens when my father somehow finds out the truth. And…and I think that there is something that I haven’t told you yet. Something that you deserve to know, Charles.’’ He added, swallowing thickly. He was going to tell Charles everything, share everything that his father had told him right then and there, but he was shut up with a kiss. ‘’Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow.’’ Charles told him quietly.

‘’Right now, I want you to take me upstairs and make me feel like the luckiest boy in the entire world.’’ The Prince whispered into his boyfriend’s ear, before he got up, holding onto Max’s hand and pulling him along towards their shared sleeping quarters.


	33. Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one. Almost 3800 words, putting us over 100.000 in total for the fic. Absolutely insane. This fic is my baby, my magnum opus. Thank you all so, so, so much for coming on this journey for me. And I hope you are as happy as I am when I say that we're nowhere near the end of the road yet.
> 
> I really hope that you all like this chapter, and I hope that it will make you as emotional as it made me. Please, enjoy <3

Max let out a groan as he woke up the next morning. It felt like he had slept way too little, which was probably true given just how long Charles had kept him up during the night, enjoyable as it was. Either way, he could see that the sun was up as he opened his eyes, which meant that the time for sleeping had passed. Nonetheless, it was nice, and comfortable, and warm underneath the covers, and so he pulled Charles a little closer as he spooned the Prince from behind, nuzzling a little deeper into the man’s soft hair as he breathed him in.

He could tell that Charles wasn’t awake yet. His breathing was nice and slow, and he seemed too peaceful to be awake, not the whiny boy that his boyfriend usually was in the morning. ‘’I love you so much.’’ The knight whispered, just wanting to share that even though the Prince wasn’t going to reply in his current state. Max moved a hand then, slowly letting his fingers run up and down Charles’ bare skin from his thigh up to his shoulder and back.

They were both completely naked under there, not really having felt like putting anything on after they’d finished the night before, and Max sighed happily, loving to feel all of his boyfriend against him and have him all to himself for the time being, too. He gently took Charles’ hand in his own then, lacing their fingers together and gently caressing the back with his thumb as he watched his beautiful Prince sleep.

It really wasn’t that long after that Charles finally started to stir, slowly blinking his eyes open and smiling when he saw Max leaning over him. ‘’Hi…’’ He mumbled, groaning softly as he rolled over, favouring the comfort and warmth of nuzzling his face into his boyfriend’s chest, rather than being held from behind. ‘’Is it really morning already? I’m still sleepy.’’ He told Max quietly, making the knight chuckle a little as he watched the Prince waking up.

‘’You are absolutely, fucking adorable.’’ Max replied as he let Charles nuzzle into him and rubbed the Prince’s back. ‘’And yes, it is morning, my love. But I’m sure that we can get away with staying in bed a little longer if you’d like.’’ He added quietly. Charles nodded softly at that, pressing his lips to Max’s skin for a moment as he closed his eyes again. ‘’My body hurts a little and it’s your fault.’’ He mumbled, making Max laugh as he held Charles nice and close in his arms. 

‘’How is it my fault when you were the one insisting on a second round last night, love?’’ Max asked quietly, earning himself a huff from the Prince. ‘’Because you are my boyfriend and you are supposed to keep me from making stupid decisions like these, Maxy.’’ Charles mumbled in return, making the knight chuckle a little more as he kissed the top of Charles’ head. ‘’Well, I guess it didn’t seem like a stupid decision when you were riding me last night.’’

Max could almost hear Charles rolling his eyes a little at that, but the Prince was smiling when he finally looked up again at his boyfriend. ‘’I guess it was worth it if you enjoyed it, then.’’ He said quietly, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to the knight’s lips. ‘’Love you, Maxy.’’ He added, before the Prince started to stretch out his tired limbs. ‘’Are you busy or do you want to join for breakfast?’’ He asked Max, who hummed softly in return. ‘’I still don’t want too many people talking about us, love. So I think I’m going to sit this one out.’’

Max’s words made Charles let out a long, deep sigh and he pouted a little. ‘’Fine…’’ He grumbled. ‘’But we have to talk about what Lorenzo said at some point.’’ He added. He gently took Max’s hand then, looking down at it and sighing happily. ‘’Love just holding hands with you.’’ He told the man, slowly tracing each of Max’s fingers with his own and humming softly, before he finally pulled away and stepped out of bed.

As Charles stepped out bed, the rays of the early sun hit his body in all the right ways. It made his eyes almost seem to sparkle as he looked back at Max, beautifully showed off the abs that he worked so hard on, and Max really did not mind the beautiful silhouette of Charles’ ass either. ‘’Gods, you’re pretty.’’ He said quietly, earning him a bit of a smirk from Charles. ‘’And all yours, too.’’ He told his boyfriend as he started getting dressed.

Max took another minute or so, needing the time to hide that the sight of Charles had actually turned him on a little, before he finally stepped out of bed, too, putting in all of his armour again to get ready for the day ahead. Even after getting out later and having to put on all of that armour though, he was still done before Charles. ‘’Alright, love. I’ll see you later.’’ He told his boyfriend then, giving him a final kiss, before he left the chambers. 

Charles hummed softly to himself as he regarded himself in the mirror. He finally decided that he looked good enough after another minute or so, before he too left the room, joining his family for breakfast. He found both Lorenzo and Arthur at breakfast, and the younger of his brothers smirked a little at him as he sat down. ‘’Had fun last night?’’ He asked Charles, earning Arthur a look from Lorenzo.

‘’More than you, I think.’’ Charles nonetheless replied easily, knowing very well how to handle his little brother. He gave Arthur a little bit of a look as an extra, before he just got started with his breakfast. Finally, the youngest of the three brothers left them to get on with his day, and Charles hummed a little once Arthur had left the room. ‘’Can I talk to you about something?’’ He asked Lorenzo, who looked up from the letter he was reading when Charles spoke.

‘’Of course, little brother. What is it?’’ Lorenzo asked curiously, a warm smile on his face as he looked over at Charles. ‘’So…’’ The Prince started. ‘’I wanted to ask you something about last night. About something that I said...’’ He told Lorenzo. The King hummed a little, before he looked over at the few people that were in the large dining room. ‘’Leave us, please.’’ He told them, nodding at Charles when they were on their own. ‘’Continue.’’

Charles gave Lorenzo a thankful smile, feeling a lot more relaxed now that it was just the two of them. ‘’Well I talked about how Max is the man that I intended on marrying one day…and…since you’re the King and all…I wanted to ask your permission to propose to him…officially.’’ 

Lorenzo’s slightly worried expression instantly made way for another smile, and he reached out to take his little brother’s hand. ‘’Nothing would make me happier than to see you with the person that you love, Charles. Of course you have my blessing.’’ The King told his heir, sighing happily as he pulled away to sit back in his chair. ‘’Have you given my words from last night some more thought, too?’’ He asked curiously.

Charles nodded at that. ‘’Yeah, I have. Assuming that Maxy says yes when I ask him, and that he thinks about this the same way that I do…I think I would like to announce things during your birthday ball, if that’s alright. It’s the biggest gathering of nobles of the year, so we’d have the crowd there…’’ He told his brother, who hummed softly in response.

‘’That actually sounds like a good idea to me. That way we can keep control of the narrative, without any intermediates who make things different than they need to be.’’ Lorenzo agreed. ‘’It’s actually a great use of the ball. You know that I don’t really know what to do with it.’’ He added with a chuckle.

He slowly got up from his seat then, patting Charles on the back for a moment. ‘’Well then, little brother. I wish you good luck with your proposal. Let me know how it went.’’ Lorenzo said happily, before he finally left the room. Once Charles finished his breakfast, he decided to quickly head down to the Vault and check on Ziara, before he would go into the city to try and buy a ring.

When Charles finally got down to the Vault, he was pretty much tackled again by an incredibly excited Ziara, who insisted that they play together for a little while before she finally allowed him to go and talk to George and Alex. ‘’Goodmorning.’’ Charles said happily when he finally reached the pair, with George giving a wave and Alex bowing. ‘’Your Highness. Goodmorning.’’ The man said, making George chuckle. ‘’Don’t mind him. He’s just proud I taught him all the proper etiquette and he remembers.’’

Charles hummed a little as he looked at the workbench, as there was a lot less of a complete saddle there than he had hoped for. ‘’Is that why you didn’t get to making my saddle yesterday?’’ He asked curiously, making George grin so wide that Charles instantly figured out what the two of them had actually been up to, rather than saddle making. As soon as Alex stepped away for a second to do some more measurements on Ziara, he elbowed the knight in the stomach. 

‘’Are you serious, George? Alex is a guest of the Royal Family and you charm him into bed with you?’’ Charles demanded from his friend, who just shrugged in return. ‘’He reeeeaaally didn’t seem very much against it, I’ll have you know. In fact he was the one who asked me to come upstairs with him and bent me over the bed, so this one really isn’t on me, Charlie.’’ George replied, with a sweet smile and an innocent shrug.

‘’I just don’t understand how you have to have sex with every attractive guy that you see, George.’’ Charles told his friend, who chuckled happily to himself. ‘’They all want me, Charles. Honestly. I am very popular with the boys. And to be honest with you, I like Alex. I like him a lot. He makes me feel things that I don’t remember feeling before.’’ He admitted, quickly shutting up when the man in question returned.

‘’Well that’s great, George. I hope that you won’t break it.’’ Charles replied, giving the man a bit of a wink before he stepped away from the workbench. ‘’Alright then guys. If the saddle isn’t done yet, I’m going to head down into the city. Let someone know if you need me at any point.’’ He told them, before he left the Vault and made his way back upstairs to the Palace. 

Once back up there, Charles took his Crownsguard for the day aside, taking a deep breath before he narrowed his eyes on them. ‘’We’re going to head down into the city, because I have something I need to take care of. If any of you mention this to the Knight Commander, and I want you all to know that I am extremely serious here, I will personally take your head off. You have my word.’’ He told all of them, looking dead-serious.

Once all of the Crownsguard were scared enough for Charles’ liking, he finally left the Palace, heading down into the richest part of Hyla and to the blacksmith that was primarily used as a jeweller these days. The blacksmith, an older man, was working his ledger when the door opened, and he had to do a double take when he saw who it was that walked in. ‘’Y-Your Highness!’’ He immediately said, getting up and dusting himself off a little, before bowing deeply. ‘’What can I do for you, Prince Charles?’’

Charles smiled at the greeting and walked over to the man with a kind smile. ‘’I’m here to shop for a ring. An engagement ring, to be precise. I hope that I can count on your discretion in the matter, Sennet?’’ The blacksmith nodded in response. ‘’Of course, Your Highness. Your family has done business with me for decades, and I pride myself on my discretion regarding matters of Royal importance.’’ He assured the Prince, who nodded. ‘’Good, that’s what I wanted to hear.’’ He said happily.

‘’I would really like an engagement ring laid in with a purple diamond. Do you have one of those?’’ Charles asked curiously. ‘’Hmmm…a purple diamond…I think so, Your Highness. Funds are not an issue, I presume?’’ Sennet asked to make sure. When he got a raised eyebrow from Charles, he quickly walked off into another room, rummaging around for a minute there before return with a small box. When opened, it was revealed to contain a small, but absolutely gorgeous purple coloured diamond. 

‘’This is…perfect…’’ Charles said quietly, reaching out and gently taking the stone to inspect it. ‘’It’s beautiful…’’ He added, smiling brightly as he imagined Max was going to love it. ‘’I’ll take it.’’ He decided instantly. ‘’Can you finish it today? You can use my finger as a reference for the size of the ring.’’ He informed the blacksmith, who seemed slightly taken aback. ‘’T-today? Your Highness, I have a lot of othe-‘’ He suddenly stopped talking, watching Charles’ face go from smiling to frowning.

‘’I mean…I will, Your Highness. I can send it up to the Palace at the start of the evening if you’d like.’’ Sennet quickly proposed as an alternative, making Charles hum as he figured out the schedule in his head. ‘’Yeah, I think that would work…’’ He finally told the man with a smile. ‘’You can collect your payment when you bring the ring up tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing your work.’’

With that, Charles left the smithy, returning to the palace where he prepared everything for their special evening. He informed the staff that he would be having a private dinner with Knight Commander Verstappen on his chamber’s balcony that evening to discuss their trip to Skoedal, and gave the kitchen a menu to prepare, all things that he knew Max had started to love since he’d come down to the capital. Finally, he went to select his best looking outfit, wanting to look his best when he proposed to his boyfriend.

It was finally starting to approach sundown when Max returned to their chambers, and Charles was just finishing up a letter as the knight walked in. He sealed the paper with wax and his seal, before putting it aside and turning to face his boyfriend, getting up with a bright smile and walking over to kiss him. ‘’Hi.’’ He said happily. ‘’Glad you could make it.’’

‘’Well, I was told to join his Highness up in his chambers for dinner. I was a little surprised you didn’t come to tell me yourself, but dinner with just the two of us does sound really, really nice actually.’’ Max noted with a loving smile as he hugged Charles close. The Prince started to laugh happily, kissing Max again before he pulled away. ‘’I didn’t have the idea yet when we were in bed this morning and I was busy all day long, so hush, you.’’ He informed his boyfriend, before he bit his lip. 

‘’Do you think that you could get out of that armour and put on something nice for our dinner?’’ Charles asked then, watching as Max sighed a little. ‘’Love, you know that I’m bad at picking a nice outfit…’’ He complained, which really only made Charles smile. ‘’Clothes are already laid out on your bed, Maxy. See you in a few minutes.’’ 

Once Max had moved into his own bedroom again to change into the appropriate outfit, Charles took the ring out of his pocket again to inspect it. It was absolutely gorgeous, better yet than he had even imagined. Purple, the colour of their two Houses combined. A sign of a new, hopefully better, future. Together. He quickly put it away again when he heard Max walking back in, and took the man over to the table outside, where they sat down together and watched the sun set over the water in the West.

‘’Beautiful, isn’t it?’’ Charles asked quietly, turning back to Max to see that the knight really only had eyes for him. ‘’Yes.’’ Max quietly agreed, reaching over to take and gently caress Charles’ hand with his own. He pulled his hand away again when the food arrived, and really, they just ended up having a really nice meal together, enjoying each other’s company more than anything else in the world.

When the butler had finally taken away their desserts and had refilled their glasses of wine for the last time, Charles sighed deeply. The sun had gone under now, and servants had come out to light candles all around them. It really was impossible to make the place any more romantic than it already was, and Charles decided that now was as good a time to ask as any. He got up then, walking back inside and grabbing the letter that he had written earlier that day, taking it back outside and holding it as he sat down.

‘’Maxy?’’ The Prince started, giving his boyfriend a bit of a nervous smile. ‘’I…there is a reason that I planned this entire dinner with you. Something that I need to ask you. And…because I have never really been one for big speeches, I decided to write it down. These are my words, to you. Because I love you.’’ Charles said quietly, reaching over to put the letter down in front of his boyfriend.

Max was smiling lovingly as he listened to his boyfriend, and gently placed a kiss on the Prince’s hand before he took the letter, opening it and taking a deep breath, before he started to read the words.

_Maxy,_

_From the moment that I first met you, I knew that you were special. That you were different than all of the other people in my life. Looking back on it, I genuinely think that for me at the very least, it was love at first sight. I had never felt that way before about anyone, and I think I was more surprised than anything at feeling that way about another person._

_Really, I had already convinced myself that love wasn’t meant to be for me. That I would just have to settle for a life of duty, a life without someone to hold my hand, to cuddle me at night. To hold me when I cry or laugh with me when I’m having fun. And then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, there you were._

_Me? A Prince of Astral? Falling in love with such a rough, burly, unmannered man, who looked like he couldn’t care less about the way he looked? You were about the polar opposite of me. But somehow, you were everything that I needed. The light to my darkness. The missing piece of the puzzle of my life. I never realized what I was missing out on, but suddenly, from that day onwards, I did. I needed someone to complete me. I needed you._

_From that special day onwards, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. I think that I figured out that I had a crush on you after only just a few days, but I only really realized it after you laid down in bed with me after my nightmare, the first time that we went to Turon for the tournament. I felt calm then. I felt loved._

_You were so kind to me then, so loving and understanding. The first signs of the real Maxy that I know and love with all of my heart, with all of my being. When you pushed me away then, told me that you wanted nothing to do with me, I was truly heartbroken for the first time in my life. The one man that I had ever fallen in love with, and he didn’t want me. Or so I thought. Maxy, when I read that letter you left on my pillow, my heart broke all over again. But nor for me. for you._

_There have been so many hardships in your life. So many mountains you have had to climb, so many obstacles that you had to overcome. Most would’ve given up in that situation. The ones that remained would probably have become evil, cynical people themselves, but not you. You are without a doubt the strongest man that I have ever known._

_You have faced everything that life could possibly throw at you with your head held high. You have come out of each of these encounters a better man, and I know that when Jonathan looks down on you, he is as proud of you as I am each and every day of my life. You are who we all strive to be. You are who I want to spend my life with._

_I dream sometimes, you know. Of a day, way in the future. Where you and I can be happy together, and we don’t have to hide our love from anyone ever again. I dream of a family, our family. With a sweet, beautiful little one running around, playing with their papa and waving at me as you carry them around on your shoulders._

_Never in my life have I loved anyone as much as I love you, Maxy. You are the light that shines away the darkness. You are my protector, who will always keep me safe from harm. You are my best friend, who will always be there for me no matter what._

_I love you, Max of House Verstappen. From this day, until my last. I promise I will love you._

Max had to swallow thickly as he read the last sentence of Charles’ letter, wiping away a tear or two that had run its way down his cheek as he did. ‘’Charles, I…’’ He started, finally putting the pages down to look over at his boyfriend.

His face fell immediately as he did, his emotion making way for shock as Charles had knelt down right next to him. He watched as the Prince reached into his pocket, producing a ring that he held up between his fingers. 

‘’I love you, Max of House Verstappen. From this day, until my last.’’ Charles said, blinking through his own tears a little as he did his best to get the words out.

‘’Will you marry me?’’


	34. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So do you all remember how emotional the last chapter was? Weeeeeeell prepare yourself, cause we nowhere near done. Oof, this is an emotional one. I just love them so, so much <3
> 
> I really hope that you enjoy the chapter, because it's very close to my heart, and a culmination of things that have been in the making for a while. It's going to be a wild ride from here on out folks.

“Will you marry me?”

Max took a deep, shaky breath as he processed the meaning of those words, and the immense weight that they carried. He hadn’t expected anything like this at all. Yes, they had talked about if before, and they were both completely sure that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but…a betrothal? An official betrothal? That was beyond anything they’d ever discussed.

He wanted to say yes. He wanted nothing more than to fully accept this incredible man’s full love and devotion, to make him his forever, but... “Charles...” He started quietly. The Prince was looking so happy. So full of love and devotion for him. So sure that Max was going to say yes that he was already reaching for the knight’s hand a little, wanting to put the ring on.

Max swallowed thickly then. The weight on his shoulders was just too heavy. The weight of a secret that he knew would change everything. For them. For everyone. A secret that would plunge them into a hell that he didn’t know they could climb out of. It was unbearable to think that he would accept Charles’ proposal without having told the Prince the whole truth. Without having any secrets left to tell.

“...I can’t.” He finally said, the tears slowly running down his cheeks again as he couldn’t hold his emotions back anymore, not after the outpouring of love that Charles had just given him in his letter.

He watched Charles’ face, going from confident and hopeful, to shock, absolute disbelief....and heartbreak. “W-what...?” He asked quietly, sounding completely devastated as he grabbed the table with his free hand, making sure to steady himself from falling over. “Maxy...please....please don’t do this.”

Max stayed quiet. He had to swallow again, trying his best to control his emotions long enough for him to be able to explain things to his boyfriend. ‘’Tell me you’re joking…please.’’ Charles said, his eyes looking more and more teared up by the second. ‘’D-did I do something wrong? Is what I wrote in the letter not good enough? Why…why won’t you say yes?’’ He asked quietly, his voice breaking halfway through the sentence.

Max still couldn’t manage to utter any words, but he reached and gently took the ring from Charles, putting it on the table before he took both of the Prince’s hands in his own. He gently pulled the man up and towards himself, getting Charles to sit on his lap as he hugged his boyfriend as closely and as tightly as he possibly could without hurting him. 

They stayed like that for a little while, holding each other as Max cried quietly and Charles sniffled softly in return, before the Prince finally spoke up again. ‘’Maxy…?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Are you….please, just talk to me. You’re not breaking up with me, are you?’’

Max took in a sharp intake of breath at those words, and finally pulled away to look into Charles’ eyes as he gently wiped at his own. ‘’No….never.’’ He finally whispered, not daring to speak any louder in case his voice would give up on him. ‘’Charles…I love you.’’ He told the sweet Prince.

The knight gently let go of Charles’ hand, putting it instead on the Prince’s cheek, where he softly brushed the cheekbone with his thumb. Max took a deep breath then, pushing it out in a long, slow breath as he steadied himself. 

‘’I want to marry you, Charles. More than anything else in this world. I want to take your hand in marriage, kiss you goodnight every night and goodmorning whenever you open your eyes. I want to start a family with you one day, and always be there for you, no matter what.’’ Max said quietly.

Charles was biting his lip a little as he listened. He had nuzzled slightly into the hand on his cheek, and looked into Max’s eyes as the knight spoke to him. ‘’Then…why are you saying no…?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Why won’t you allow yourself to be happy? Why won’t you allow us to be happy?’’ He had to sniffle a little as he finished that last sentence, and Max leaned in then, gently placing his lips against Charles’ for a moment.

‘’Because there is something that I have to tell you. Something that I have kept from you because I was scared. It will change everything, Charles. It has to.’’ Max said quietly. He was looking serious, and miserable, and Charles could feel himself starting to worry about whatever it was that Max had to say.

‘’What is it?’’ Charles asked quietly. ‘’How can there be something that you haven’t told me yet? I thought that we shared everything…’’ He started pouting a little then, feeling very insecure and small all of a sudden. His hopes had been shattered before, and somehow Max was now giving him some hope again, now. It was maddening.

Max took another deep breath then, closing his eyes for a moment, before he looked back into Charles’ eyes. ‘’Because it’s what my father told me that last morning in Skoedal…’’ He said quietly. 

Charles started frowning a little then, looking a little upset at this new information. ‘’But I asked you about that…I asked you multiple times if something happened with your father…Max, it’s been weeks since we left Skoedal. If your father told you something important, why haven’t you told me?’’ He was sounding angrier almost with the word, looking more and more upset, too. The rollercoaster of emotions was just becoming a little too much for the Prince.

‘’Time and time again I gave you the opportunity to tell me what was bothering you, Max. And time and time again you assured me that everything was fine. That you were just thinking. Why? Why would you do that? I thought we told each other everything?’’ Charles demanded. Max’s hand had dropped back into his lap by then, and the knight looked down as he was scolded, until he finally couldn’t take it anymore.

‘’Because I was scared, Charles!’’ Max finally let out, looking at the Prince again with tears in his eyes. ‘’Because I AM scared.’’ He added quietly, his bottom lip trembling slightly as he stared at his boyfriend. ‘’I am terrified of what telling you will do. To you, to us, to my family. And I tried to tell you. Last night, after we told your family, I finally found the courage to tell you. But you dragged me up here to have sex and I…I couldn’t do it afterwards.’’

Charles’s expression softened again as Max talked to him. His gaze shifted from eye to eye as he stared into Max’s, and he finally cupped both of the knight’s cheeks in his hands when he was done with his confession. ‘’Maxy, are you scared of me?’’ He asked quietly, earning himself a gentle shake of the head in return. ‘’No…I love you.’’ Max replied sincerely.

Charles gave the knight a gentle smile in return, giving him a kiss before he sighed softly. ‘’Then there is nothing to be afraid of. Whatever you have to tell me, whatever it is going to bring us, we can face it together. We can face anything, as long as we’re together.’’ He told the man.

Max couldn’t help but smile slightly at that, and nodded as he gently took Charles’ hands, holding them and looking down for a moment as he sighed deeply. ‘’Okay.’’ He said quietly, falling quietly for a while as he gathered the words to say what he needed to. ‘’My father…he didn’t say it outright, but…he implied strongly that…that he is the one who hired the mercenaries that almost killed Lorenzo.’’ He finally said.

For a moment there, an absolute split second of time, it felt like a gigantic weight had been lifted from Max’s shoulders. That was, until he looked back up at Charles. The Prince’s face seemed almost blank for the moment, but his expression quickly changed. His eyes widened slightly, and he stared at Max in absolute, utter shock.

The silence that hung in the air felt tense, and Max was absolutely terrified to break it. He watched Charles closely, looked on as the Prince finally opened his mouth to speak. ‘’What…?’’ He asked quietly. ‘’Your…your father was responsible for Lorenzo almost dying? For you getting wounded? For killing more than thirty of our men, each of them innocent, loyal servants to the Crown?’’ 

As Charles spoke, Charles’ grip on Max’s hands tightened, until it started to get quite painful for the knight. Max winced a little at the pain, but he didn’t speak up about it, he didn’t want to make Charles angrier than he already was. 

‘’Yes…’’ Max said quietly. ‘’That’s….that’s what he heavily implied.’’ He told his boyfriend, nervously looking on as Charles processed the information. Max really didn’t know what to do. Whether to hug Charles, to have him punch something, to kiss him or have him scream angrily towards the sea. He was only stopped in his thoughts when Charles, who had looked off a little into the distance as he processed this, suddenly stared back into Max’s eyes.

‘’Why?’’ The Prince demanded, rather than asked, and Max had to swallow a little. ‘’His literal words to me were ‘Everything I do, I do for the glory of our House. I do for you.’. I…I think that he wants Skoedal to become independent again. To have himself and me be crowned King again, rather than just Lord. He wants to restore our House to the glory he thinks it deserves, and he will do anything to make it happen.’’

Charles really only squeezed harder into Max’s hands, and his breathing turned a little heavy with rage. ‘’He. Murdered. Innocents.’’ He told his boyfriend. ‘’He tried to kill my brother. He nearly killed you. I will end him.’’ He pretty much growled. ‘’I will take Ziara and I will burn him where he stands. I will burn his entire legacy down to the ground.’’

The Prince started to tremble a little then, and his breathing turned a little erratic as he sat with Max. ‘’I will never, ever, ever let anyone I love get hurt ever again.’’ He told his boyfriend. In response, Max tried to give his boyfriend a hug, tried to calm him down, but to no avail.

Charles simply batted Max’s arms away, glaring at him as he got up from the man’s lap. ‘’And you. What the hell were you thinking?! Lorenzo’s life could still be in danger! Your life could be in danger! Why didn’t you tell me any of this sooner?! Why were you keeping this secret for your father, a man who wouldn’t hesitate to have you killed if he knew you loved me?!’’ 

The Prince was so angry, so furious, so ready to do whatever he needed to do what he needed to to protect the ones he loved. He had dined with this man. He had spent a week in this man’s house. A man who had tried to kill his brother. Who had tried to kill his boyfriend. And Max knew. He knew everything, and he had kept it from Charles for weeks on end.

‘’I told you I was scared.’’ Max finally said quietly. ‘’Charles he…the man is capable of anything. If I…if I don’t comply he might hurt my mother or my sister. He…he tried to manipulate me into thinking that I could never tell you. That it would turn you and Lorenzo and everyone here against me because I am that monster’s son. That you would never trust me again and lock me up as a traitor.’’ 

Instead of the compassion that he had hoped for when he looked up into Charles’ eyes, all Max could see in them was anger. ‘’How could you for a moment think that I would ever turn my back on you?’’ Charles demanded, looking down at his boyfriend. ‘’I would give my life to protect you. You are my everything, my whole world. How could you think such terrible things about me, Max…?’’ 

Max got up then, trying to reach for Charles’ hand, to hold his boyfriend close, but the Prince turned away from him. Max could hear gentle sobs as he stared at Charles’ back, and the Prince finally took a deep breath before he spoke again. ‘’Please go. I need to be alone. I need to think.’’ He said quietly. 

‘’Charles, no. Don’t send me away, please…’’ Max said quietly. He couldn’t go now. Not like this. Not when they needed to talk this out. ‘’Just GO, Max!’’ The Prince yelled back. ‘’Don’t make this any worse than it already is. Just leave me be and go to your own chambers!’’ 

Max could see as the prince started to gentle tremble again, and he decided then to stand his ground. ‘’No. I’m not going anywhere. You need me here. We need to talk about this. We need t-‘’ He was cut off then, nearly gasping a little as Charles suddenly turned around and stared angrily at him, his face only an inch or two from his own.

‘’I am ordering you, as your Prince, to leave me alone and to get the hell away from me.’’ Charles said for a third time, breathing heavily as he stared into his boyfriend’s eyes. With that, Max’s expression turned a lot more neutral, and he took a few steps back as he continued look straight into the Prince’s eyes. 

‘’As you command, Your Highness.’’ Max said as he bowed deeply, struggling to suppress the anger he suddenly felt from his voice. Charles had never spoken to him like that before. Never. Not since they’d gotten together. They were always equals in this relationship, but not anymore, it seemed. He walked off then, leaving Charles be and slamming the door to his own chambers with such force that it made Charles wince and wonder whether the hinges hadn’t broken off.

Then, the Prince started to cry. He put his hands on the balustrade as he cried his eyes out, staring out over the blackness of the night that had fallen over the sea. He cried for what felt like hours, until he had no more tears left to cry.

All of the emotions had just gotten too much. His broken heart at Max rejecting his proposal, his fear of the secret Max had to tell, the anger he had felt when he had finally learned it, and the betrayal he had felt when he realized how long the knight had kept this from him.

He finally stumbled inside then, pulling his clothes off and crawling into the large, empty bed all by himself. He couldn’t sleep. Not just because his thoughts wouldn’t slow down, but because there was someone missing. His everything. The love of his life. His entire world. His Maxy. 

The more that he thought about it, the less sure Charles was that he could really blame the knight for hiding the secret from him for so long. He had seen the struggle within him. How he had wanted to tell Charles, but had been too scared to every time. After really meeting his father, could he really blame Max for that? And none of them had been in any real danger since the attack, so it wasn’t like Max was responsible for anyone getting hurt.

Charles soon enough realized that he had been way too harsh on Max. He realized just how much courage it must’ve taken to tell him this, knowing full well that he might be rejected for it. He voiced his fears, and Charles had ignored them and focused on his own anger instead. It was unconscionable. And he knew what he had to do.

Very slowly, Charles crawled out of his bed, getting up and going over to the door between Max’s chambers and his own. He took a deep breath, before he slowly opened the door, being met with only the sounds of his boyfriend’s even breathing. He was asleep. It made Charles smile. Max deserved his rest, especially after all that he had been through, even though it was supposed to be with him.

He stepped inside then, quietly closing the door behind himself before he walked over to Max’s bed, slipping in underneath the covers and gently moving closer to the knight without waking him up. When he was finally at his side, Charles smiled lovingly, gently pushing Max’s hair up from his boyfriend’s forehead. ‘’I’m sorry, Maxy.’’ He whispered. ‘’I love you so much.’’ He added, pressing a kiss to the man’s temple as he slept.

He cuddled close to his boyfriend then, nuzzling into his chest as always as he closed his eyes. ‘’I hope that you can forgive me.’’ He whispered, before he slowly started to drift off, finally being able to sleep again now that he was with his boyfriend at his side again.

Just as Charles drifted off, he felt a pair of strong, familiar arms wrapping themselves around him, holding him close as Max’s face nuzzled into his hair. All that he heard as he fell asleep was Max’s slow breathing, accompanied by two, short words.

‘’I do.’’

**Author's Note:**

> Astral is a landmass under the rule of one King. Formerly divided into 5 Kingdoms that constantly warred with each other, Charles’ ancestor King Charles I united the nations under one rule after gaining control of one of the creatures of legend, a gigantic black dragon named Nydhass, controlled by his wife from a far away land to the East, Queen Alpaida.
> 
> Together, they conquered al the lands of Astral, installing themselves as co-rulers and installing a hereditary system where the oldest son inherits the crown on the death of the King.
> 
> [ Map ](https://njh-1996.tumblr.com/post/636875788697894912/the-continent-of-astral-as-for-my-fic-in-love) for reference!
> 
> The 5 regions of the land and the Houses that control them are as follows:  
> Ostrana: The central eastern region of the land, controlled by House Leclerc since time immemorial. It includes the capital of Hyla and has a large coastline that enables trade with the Eastern continents.
> 
> Skoedal: The most Northern area of the realm. It is a colder region, yet by far the largest of the realm. It is controlled by House Verstappen, and was the last to fall to Charles’ ancestor. Its inhabitants are known for being tough, headstrong people who do not bend easily. Capital: Anceron
> 
> Nikmaa: The first region to be conquered by House Leclerc, the original rulers were replaced by House Gasly after the war of conquest. Because of this history, the region is still very militarized and makes up the bulk of the royal army, while the ruling family still enjoys close bonds with the Royal Family. Capital: Turon.
> 
> Vandi: The breadbasket of Astral, situated on the Western side of the continent. Ruled by House Stroll. It is the most populous region of the land, and its overwhelming natural resources make the ruling family incredibly wealthy. Capital: Estikar
> 
> Kelpiski: The maritime region of Astral. They supply the nation’s fleet. They are mostly fishermen. Ruled by House Ricciardo. Capital: Ante


End file.
